Surviving and thriving a competitive job market is difficult if you’re female, but the challenge almost triples for mothers.
The difficulties go beyond striking the right balance between work and motherhood to complexities (like unequal opportunities) that are pretty much the result of gender inequality.
This is evident even amid the COVID-19 pandemic, where studies show working women have suffered more than other groups.
According to March’s The Employment Situation by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly 60 per cent of the job-spots eliminated in Wave 1 of the COVID-induced dismissals were women-held positions.
By April, the count of single mums at work dipped 22 per cent from 2019 results, according to a University of Minnesota study dabbed Stateline Analysis. In comparison, employment rates dropped only 9 per cent for other families with kids.
Still, mums who wish to thrive must go against all the odds and tap into the flexibility in workplace and project management processes.
Used appropriately, these newly-fangled methodologies and tools can help a mother endure difficulties and grow even in the most challenging job environments.
Mumpreneurs can now rely on remote work, co-working, and various professional platforms that allow a mother to work on their terms.
How Workplace and Project Management Flexibility Helps Mums
Mums prefer flexible schedules & job terms and will almost certainly ditch their jobs or put it on hold to raise their kids. Julia Tanen, President of The Tanen Group, estimates figures as high as 5.4 million mothers per year.
Some time back, conditions were unfavourable, and multitasking was almost impossible until recently when tech-driven processes and solutions took over.
Gone is the era when companies relied on an internal team operating from a single physical location. Many workplace and project processes revolutionised to favor flexible teams and agile workflows.
Everything from communication to task assignment and change management can happen virtually or remotely thanks to the various team management methods and tools.
Workplace and Project Management Features that Lead to Flexibility
The paperless approach
Paper is one of the biggest obstacles to workplace flexibility. Many paper-led offices demand physical processes like printing, mail posting, and a manual one-on-one approach that can be daunting and expensive for mums.
A more digital approach that cuts down the paper trail and relies on legal verifications like digital signatures further encourage virtual teamwork and allows a mother to work from home while caring for her kids.
It also eliminates the hassle of handling a pile of papers and eases locating project documents.
Remote Allocation and Tracking of Activities
Mother project managers can now allocate and monitor tasks in a single platform thanks to the various project management tools. This process is convenient for mums who already have a lot on their plate.
Video-chatting and texting platforms allow mums to engage teams and clarify unclear tasks. Plus, the auto-reminders built into many project supervision tools ensure all priority tasks are handled on time.
Scheduling tools allow mothers to plan tasks while Time & Task Tracking features help you monitor adherence to work plans.
And for the icing on the cake, the best software combines all these capabilities in a single platform. In essence, mothers can accomplish more than they did with traditional methods and still save on costs.
Active Risk Analysis & Mitigation
The idea of working from anywhere, and at your convenience, can seem like a careless approach prone to different risks and failure.
However, new project governance strategies and technologies allow mothers to analyze and control risks.
Leveraging RACI charts and a Work Breakdown Structure helps a mum review all the planned activities and notice weak areas that could compromise project continuity and success.
Mum leaders also tap into past experiences and digital project records to identify and control any apparent risks.
A customer-centric approach
A project is unsuccessful if it fails to meet client expectations!
Yet pleasing a customer can prove impossible, especially without the one-on-one factor. Plus, customer expectations and needs can change amid a project.
Luckily for mums, many new methodologies use a customer-centric approach, which seeks to understand client needs, prioritise them, give constant feedback, and manage change to increase satisfaction.
Achieved Project Milestones are an excellent way to keep your client informed and on their toes for any would-be tweaks and improvements.
A client-centric strategy coupled with proper Change Management can increase adherence to project deliverables and boost client satisfaction.
More Ways Flexible Project Governance Is Empowering Mums;
- The ability to review alternative project scenarios increases the likelihood of success in women-run projects
- Remote stakeholder involvement encourages the full participation of all project sponsors.
- Considering external events during planning can drive project success, especially for mums prone to family emergencies.
Lastly, planning and conducting project meetings from anywhere, through new methods like Scrum, has simplified and improved the workplace experience significantly.
Final Words
Every year, the workplace loses millions of competent mum workers who quit their jobs due to unbearable conditions.
Tech, however, seeks to address this problem by leading a new era that supports remote tasking, co-working, and the various process that matter to a flexible working process.
Savvy mums are now well-placed to maintain their careers while caring for their loved ones.
