Management attitudes and practices – and not policies – will dictate the success of the Paid Parental Leave scheme, according to new research by coaching and development consultancy Family Matters.  It should come as no surprise that the research found attitudes and biases play a significant role in return to work decisions, with 5 key management attitudes identified:

• Traditionalists – see the work place as a male domain and a woman’s place as homemaker and child-rearer.
• Resenters – are more concerned with what happened to them and the belief that no one deserves special treatment.
• Avoiders – are overly concerned with doing the ‘right’ thing, that it paralyses them into doing nothing.
• Protectors – want to wrap the woman in cotton wool and protect her from anything and everything, including job responsibility.
• Supporters – see this stage of a woman’s career as challenging yet manageable through setting and managing expectations for all stakeholders.

These are just the kind of invisible barriers that we need to firstly identify and then break down in order to create gender balanced workplaces in Australia.  

What’s your take – have you seen or experienced any of these attitudes in action?  I’d love to hear your thoughts…