The Challenge of Balancing Career and Family
February 20, 2025
For decades, women have faced the challenge of balancing professional goals with family life. While new work models and shifting expectations offer hope for change, standard workplace policies have struggled to keep up—leaving too few women in leadership roles.
Source: Pixabay
To stay ahead, businesses need to update old frameworks. They should understand that flexibility is not just a benefit for employees. It also benefits a larger cultural change.
Let’s move beyond the same gender equality arguments. Instead, we can look at new work arrangements designed for gender equity in the workplace. We can see how offices are changing and which companies support women in leadership.
Why the ‘Flexibility’ Model Falls Short
The Myth of Workplace Flexibility
Some organizations label their policies “flexible,” yet they still push staff to work during fixed windows. That goes against the true meaning of flexibility. It adds more stress for women who manage deadlines and caregiving. A truly flexible setup should let people align their working hours with their personal needs, without sacrificing performance.
Many people often consider hybrid formats inclusive. However, women who work from home may be missing important decisions. They might also miss key networking events. This unintended isolation can slow their career growth and reinforce gender imbalances.
Performance Bias & Career Growth Gaps
Studies show that women use flexible policies more than men. This can lead others to wrongly think they are less committed. These assumptions affect promotions, leadership advancement, and job evaluations.
Many companies still see one requirement for leadership as always available. This makes it hard for people with family duties to compete.
Key Data & Case Studies
LeanIn.org and McKinsey & Company found that women face lower chances of receiving promotions to their first management role. This puts them behind in the leadership pipeline. Men hold around 60% of manager roles, with women at 40%. Data from the past decade shows little change, which is troubling.
Source: Leanin.org: Women in the Workplace
In response, companies like Salesforce and Unilever created clear promotion rules. They also ensured that remote workers can access coaching and mentorship from leaders. These moves help create a more balanced environment where flexibility boosts, rather than blocks, career progress. By restructuring workplaces, organizations can nurture more women in top positions.
Career ‘Pauses’ vs. ‘Pivots’
Career Break Stigmas Are Outdated
Employers once frowned on career gaps, especially for women who stepped away to raise kids or care for family members. They saw these breaks as lost expertise. Now, more leaders see that taking breaks can provide valuable experiences. These pauses help sharpen new skills and improve a person's overall contribution at work.
Progressive employers build return-to-work paths so employees can resume their careers without a reset to entry-level.
The Rise of Career Pivots
More women are using break periods to steer their careers in new directions or launch new ventures. They often spend this time on certifications, building skills, or looking into jobs that help balance work and family. This includes fields like tech or creative industries.
Companies interested in empowering women in the workplace should consider internal programs that help employees update skills and transition into emerging opportunities within the organization.
Actionable Takeaways
IBM and Accenture each saw the hurdles of rejoining the workforce after extended breaks, so they designed structured programs:
IBM's Tech Re-Entry Program: This paid, full-time offering welcomes tech professionals who’ve been away for one or more years. The program includes guided study plans and real-world assignments. It runs in the U.S., Canada, India, China, the UK, Germany, and Australia.
Accenture's Career Reboot Program is for women who have been away for 24 months or more. It offers full-time jobs or internships. Participants also receive training, skill-building, and mentorship. Participants gain the tools to smoothly reenter the job market.
These approaches bridge gaps in employment and help qualified professionals continue on their leadership path.
Parenting Leave Can Shift the Burden
Outdated Parental Leave Policies Still Hurt Women
Unequal parenting leave remains a major obstacle. Companies often give mothers longer leave than fathers. This adds to the idea that caregiving is mainly a woman's job. This can strain women and discourage men from fully stepping into parenthood responsibilities.
It’s About the Economy
Data suggests workplaces that offer broad parental leave keep more women engaged over the long term. According to a 2017 study by the Boston Consulting Group, over 90% of businesses with paid family leave reported a positive or neutral effect on morale and revenue.
Source: BCG Whitepaper
Consider three examples:
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE): 24 weeks of paid leave for any new parent, plus a chance to work part-time for up to three years after the child arrives.
Etsy: 26 weeks of paid leave for primary or secondary caregivers, which can be spread out over two years. The company also provides funding for adoption and surrogacy.
Netflix: Up to 52 weeks of paid leave for all parents, giving them space to focus on their child’s first year.
These policies tend to raise job satisfaction and retention, while also benefiting a company’s overall bottom line. Employers that adopt these structures move closer to genuine gender equity.
Remote Work’s Double-Edged Sword for Women
How Remote Work Helps and Hurts Career Growth
Working from home frees up time and reduces commuting stress, yet it can isolate women from peers and bosses. If managers don’t see someone in person, they might forget to include her in leadership decisions or big projects. Data suggests remote workers get promoted less often than those in the office.
Solutions: Making Remote Work More Equitable
Companies can keep women on the radar by offering online mentoring, leadership programs, and purposeful networking events.
Partner remote employees with mentors who share expertise and champion growth.
Leadership Development Initiatives
Host virtual workshops and trainings that cover crucial skills like communication, decision-making, and handling teams.
Plan activities like virtual coffee breaks, online panels, or small group collaborations. These events build team spirit and foster professional connections, even if employees aren’t in the same place.
Through these efforts, remote female workers gain better access to promotions and leadership roles, which strengthens diversity at higher levels.
Actionable Strategies: How Companies Can Adapt and Lead
Leaders can strengthen their workplaces with these ideas:
Rethink Flexibility
- Track Outcomes: Evaluate work based on results, not clock hours.
- Encourage Self-Managed Schedules: Give employees the freedom to choose their working hours.
- Offer Different Worksite Choices: Let your team decide if they work in-house, remotely, or both.
Normalize Career Pauses and Returnships
- Develop a Clear Return Path: Provide training, guidance, and real assignments for professionals coming back.
- Change Attitudes About Gaps: Encourage hiring teams to view breaks as times of personal growth.
- Provide Ongoing Skills Training: Make sure employees have access to learning resources, even during their time away.
Expand Parental Leave for All Genders
- Offer Paid Leave Equally: Give every new parent a reasonable amount of paid time off.
- Urge Fathers to Take Leave: Show that childcare isn’t just a woman’s domain.
- Make the Return Easier: Let parents come back gradually or adjust their hours.
Support Women in Remote Work & Leadership
- Set Up Remote Mentorship: Match at-home workers with senior colleagues.
- Provide Focused Training: Run leadership sessions geared toward women’s advancement.
- Maintain Virtual Networking: Schedule group chats, team challenges, or other ways to stay connected.
Learn from the Entrepreneurial Workforce
- Foster an Idea-Friendly Culture: Urge employees to pitch new approaches and pilot them.
- Delegate Project Ownership: Encourage staff to steer projects, honing leadership abilities.
- Highlight Creative Solutions: Reward those who bring fresh thinking to daily tasks.
These actions help women manage career and family commitments, while allowing businesses to tap into a broader talent pool.
Conclusion
If companies don’t adapt to the new reality of work, they risk losing high-caliber talent. By elevating flexible policies, acknowledging career shifts, and cultivating inclusive teams, businesses create room for women to flourish personally and professionally.
You can join forces with organizations that champion these changes. Think about scheduling corporate retreats, specialized leadership sessions, or tours that highlight supportive workplace cultures. This is a pivotal moment to shape a better environment for women in the workforce.
The Silicon Valley Innovation Center (SVIC) serves as a global meeting point for technology, entrepreneurship, and forward-focused ideas. Based in California’s Silicon Valley, SVIC offers resources for startups, entrepreneurs, and larger companies ready to develop and market disruptive solutions. Through its high-profile events, instructor-led workshops, and tailored programs, SVIC links participants to the worldwide community of daring thinkers.
