On Tuesday 29th September, My Family Care and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, will be hosting a Work+Family Think Tank event where senior HRs from some of the UK’s biggest companies will be debating what being a father in today’s workplace really means.
Industry experts will be discussing My Family Care’s latest research into working dads* that recently found that:
- Two thirds (60%) of fathers who have children under school age say they don’t have a working pattern that suits them
- A quarter (28%) of all fathers say they are unhappy with their work-life balance
- Almost half (40%) said that just one day a week working from home would make a huge difference to their lives
- Half of fathers want to work more flexibly but are concerned about the impact on their careers and perception of the company and colleagues.
Starting at 8.30am with a light breakfast, the Work+Family Think Tank will kick off at 9am, running until 10.30am and concluding with coffee and networking. Speakers include:
- Jennifer Liston-Smith, Head of Coaching & Consultancy at My Family Care
- Nick Allen, Senior Manager and working father at Deloitte
- Helene Reardon-Bond, Deputy Director and Head of Gender Equality at the Government Equalities Office
- Mary FitzPatrick, Diversity Leader at GE Capital International
- Catherine Oliver, Senior Manager – Planning and Strategy Implementation at Sky
Ben Black, Director of My Family Care says: “It’s important to remember that gender diversity is not just about women; with more and more mothers returning to work, couples share childcare responsibilities so fathers want more flexibility and understanding from their employer. Communication is of paramount importance through all of the changes that new parents face; communication between couples, between employer and employee and between HR and senior management.
“We hope this event helps HR managers to really think about how they are supporting their working fathers, and provide them with helpful, proactive information on how to create and maintain a happy, evolving workforce.”
Richard Speight, Global Markets HR executive at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and chair of the bank’s Parents and Carers Network says: “As these statistics clearly show, the desire for work-life balance is not gender specific, so we’re delighted to be involved in this event to help ensure an equal focus on both men and women. With the sharing of childcare responsibilities becoming increasingly commonplace, it’s imperative that we provide all employees with the resources and benefits that allow them to lead successful and fulfilling work and personal lives. At BofAML specifically, we already have several programmes in place that support working parents, and have recently made enhancements to a number of these that support men such as Return to Work programmes; Pre- and Post Parental Leave support and one-on-one New Fathers Coaching.”
The event is taking place at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, 2 King Edward Street, London, EC1A 1HQ at 8.30am – 11am on Tuesday 29th September. Businesses interested in attending can sign up here.
