Case Study: UBS
UBS is taking a two-pronged approach to the maternity issue in the UK. Since the financial services group launched a programme in October 2007, about 400 women have registered for or started coaching sessions. These generally take the form of group sessions involving between 4 and 10 people, says Gilli Howarth, head of diversity. One of the benefits is that participants can network with other women in a similar situation across the company.
Coaching is also available for men and women who are taking adoption leave. A few women are granted one-to-one coaching, depending on seniority and the complexity and sensitivity of their job or circumstances.
The other element of the programme is training for managers, both male and female, in handling maternity issues and communicating more effectively. This involves getting them to imagine what it is like to be in the woman's shoes – and learning not to make assumptions.
"We talk about things like how you deal with replacing the role and the workload, how you do that sensitively, how you keep in touch and how you let the woman know what her compensation is when she's on maternity leave," Ms Howarth says.
"We're trying to make sure every manager has all the information they need to make correct, fair decisions, so the feeling of treading on eggshells is taken out of the situation. This has traditionally never really been done in organisations."
Gilli Howarth in the FT
