Investing and accerlating progress on IWD 2024

Shannon Barlow (Host): Welcome to the show, Vinnie. I'm thrilled to have you here today on International Women's Day. And of course, one of the themes of the campaign this year is around inspiring inclusion. So I'm really looking forward to hearing some of your experiences that you've had with that in the workplace, probably both personally and in your work with our clients and candidates.

Vinnie Yeoh (Guest): Hi, Shannon. Thank you so much for having me here. My experience with this has actually been a really positive one, fortunately. There are so many topics we can cover today, but I'll focus on parental leave as I'm 25 weeks pregnant now, and this would be, I guess, most relevant to me.

Shannon Barlow: I'm sure that's front and center of your mind right now.

Vinnie Yeoh: Definitely. It's ticking by every week. And, yeah, I guess with this, you know, as someone who I guess is considered quite career-focused, there is still a strong stigma that suggests taking parental leave could harm one's career. And I'm definitely guilty of that, thinking like that self-imposed, you know, kind of expectation. And I guess there are mixed views of mothers' commitments to their jobs due to some flexibility needed. But my question would be, why should women be penalized in their careers for starting families? Thankfully, I am very fortunate to be amongst leaders who are very supportive and they understand it's part of life. And I can be assured that, you know, when I do come back from parental leave, my job is still available for me. And there are different arrangements that could be available to support my transition.

Shannon Barlow: Yeah, that's excellent. And I know that we've recently welcomed back a few mothers back into the people group. And it's great to see that progress, I think, in terms of the support that's available, not only so that you feel that it's not going to hinder your career, but also that transition period when you're coming back and You know, it's been some time there'll be changes in systems and processes and things. So really, I think employers are doing a much better job of being able to support that change and set people up for success again.

Vinnie Yeoh: Yeah, I totally agree with that. You know, I've definitely seen progress in this area with enhancements in flexible working arrangements, allowing greater provisions for working parents. And our Victoria Managing Director, Erin, is definitely a true role model in that area. She has just this week come back from her parental leave of two years and demonstrates it is possible to have the best of both worlds. And I've got a lot to learn from her.

Shannon Barlow: Oh, fantastic. Well, great to hear that you've had that support in us. What about from some of your clients or, I guess, from working with your candidates? Because some of these, I guess, considerations will be the same across different businesses and for job seekers as well, kind of weighing up those options.

Vinnie Yeoh: Yeah, I've definitely seen a shift. And, you know, I guess years ago people would be pretty fearful or worried, you know, bringing up any parent to leave, you know, kind of situations with employers. But I've just this week had a chat with my client within professional services in law firms. And I've learned that law firms have now increased their parental leave to 26 weeks being paid. So that's definitely a really strong perk for anyone wanting to be within professional services. And I've also seen progress in parental leave arrangements, recognizing men as primary carers and really challenging the social contract positioning men as primary earners and women as caregivers. So yeah, it's really nice to see these changes and transitions.

Shannon Barlow: Yeah, that's fantastic. And sometimes, you know, for individuals, it can seem a little bit overwhelming. And, you know, you want to be able to improve the situation. But it can be hard to know where to start. So being able to, you know, challenge those old-fashioned or traditional gender stereotypes is a good starting place. And It's great to see that these benefits are coming through across the board.