Recognising the place of women in the workplace is a subject close to our heart, and on this International Women’s Rights Day, questions are still being asked about the delicate balance between professional and private life.
Despite progress in terms of gender parity in the different spheres of life, many inequalities persist and women are faced with an additional challenge in achieving their professional aspirations.
Woman, mother, full-time employee or business owner: how to be present on all fronts?
Woman, mother, full-time employee or business owner: how to be present on all fronts?
Reconciling work and family life: what a challenge!
Today, a working woman may aspire to a rewarding professional life, to land a position of responsibility or run her own business, but often combined with a busy family life, the path to success proves to be a real challenge on a daily basis. In 2021, women represented 39% of the working population in Mauritius; although more and more women are showing that reconciling work and family life is feasible, what are the obstacles they face?
Many obligations and stereotypes still weigh on the role of men and women in our society: men generally would have stronger professional ambitions and women would tend to take care of the family home. The term “glass ceiling” is used to illustrate all the barriers, visible or not, that could slow down a woman’s career, such as lack of availability or mobility, criteria that are in demand in the world of work. According to gender statistics in Mauritius in 2021, only 10.4% of working women against 23.6% of men had a “Head of business” position. Even in the real estate sector, which has the advantage of being flexible, women represent only 36% of jobs.
Indeed, maintaining control of our work-life balance is no small task! It requires commitment, ambition and a clear division of responsibilities at home. This is all the more obvious after two years of the pandemic. We wonder why it is so difficult to combine the two? Is it illusory to want to do as much in one area as in the other?
It is necessary to find the right balance for oneself, to ask for help, to change mentalities, to divide tasks, to allow men to invest more in their family life, to put in place new norms and regulations, to opt for flexible working hours, to allow teleworking, to put in place the necessary infrastructures in our companies… in short, a whole programme!
At Villa Vie: A more compassionate and inclusive vision of the world of work
At Villa Vie, our team is made up of wonderful women and mothers, and it was important for us to create a caring and supportive work environment where each member of the team could flourish and find fulfilment.
Sophie Hardy, the agency’s director, says: “For me, it’s all about respect; that is, respecting that for most of us, our role as parents can take precedence over our work. That certainly doesn’t mean that we can’t do both, it’s just that the working conditions must allow us to do so.
At Villa Vie this is the rule, we are women and mothers first and foremost, and this does not prevent us from being true professionals too! “
Sources :
Gender Statistics, Year 2021 – https://statsmauritius.govmu.org/Pages/Statistics/ESI/Gender/Gender_Yr21.aspx
Labour Statistics – Table 1.2 Labour force by age group and sex, 2020 and 2021 / Table 1.4 Employment (Mauritians and foreign workers) by industry and sex, 2019 – 2021- https://statsmauritius.govmu.org/Pages/Statistics/By_Subject/Labour/SB_labour.aspx
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