On May 15th, the world celebrates International Day of Families. And, at Where Women Work, we celebrate the prime employers for women who make it possible for talented, professional women to enjoy the balance between their career and their family commitments.

Diageo understands what family means to its employees

"Family" means a great deal to many people across Diageo's global workforce. Diageo's diverse workforce is made up of thousands of talented people and Diageo supports them in achieving a work-family balance.

"The key is I always got the job done - just by working differently and unusual hours, but that worked for me and allowed me to maintain a great career, without feeling like I was compromising at home. Diageo played a big role in that, making me feel valued throughout and supportive of my choices,” explains Anita Robinson, Diageo's Category Director for Vodka, Rum, Gin & Pimms.

“Family is everything to me. They form my anchor through life. I have learnt to lean-In into my support network and allocate time for both work and family. I’ve also become a bit better at multi-tasking and the amazing flexible working options that Diageo offers makes it easier to plan my work better and how best to deliver,” adds Onyinye Okpala, Diageo's Early Careers Manager.

Women at Vodafone enjoy an evolving career

When Kate returned to work from maternity leave, Vodafone fully supported her with flexible career options. With many opportunities for career progression and advancement, Kate never missed a beat with her career and was able to fully balance her working life with spending time with her infant son.

Economic research by KPMG for Vodafone found there are an estimated 96 million skilled women aged 30-54 on career breaks worldwide, and an estimated 55 million of these have experience at middle-manager level and above.

In 2017, Vodafone created the ReConnect Programme in response to demand and to ensure they could consistently attract and retain the very best talent. The programme promotes opportunities for women who would like to return to work on a full time or flexible basis, but are struggling to make the professional connections needed or refresh the skills required.

When Burcu Erdur wanted to return to work after a two  year career break, she said that the ReConnect Programme at Vodafone changed her life.

Explore career opportunities at Vodafone and join women like Kate and Burcu.

Schneider Electric leads the way for family leave

Prime employer for women, Schneider Electric has revolutionised their global family leave policy, making work-life balance more accessible to each and every one of their 144,000 employees, worldwide.

The policy sets global minimum standards for parental leave, care leave and bereavement leave, while preserving country flexibility based on statutory and market needs.

The energy firm is the first in its industry to make a global family leave policy commitment to all its employees and hopes to encourage others in the sector to do the same.

Join the talented network of women enjoying fantastic career benefits at Schneider Electric.  

EY bridges the gap for professional women returning to the workplace

For talented women seeking a return to a professional career, the EY Reconnect programme may be the answer. With previous knowledge and experience of business, the programme offers women returners the opportunity to explore roles in Advisory, EY Law, Tax or Transaction Advisory Services, whilst being supported to return to the workplace.

For women who have experienced a career break of between two and ten years, EY’s Reconnect programme provides 12 weeks of coaching, mentoring and project work with the purpose of improving confidence and professional knowledge, whilst maintaining career flexibility.

Learn more about how you can join a talented pool of women returning to a professional career with EY.

AECOM supports flexible career options for women

With a young family, Karen Britton, Associate Director in Transportation for AECOM, wanted more flexibility in her career. For AECOM, a prime employer for women, flexible working arrangements are just one of the ways they continue to attract and retain the best female talent.

“AECOM allows me to work flexibly around my responsibilities to my young family. I returned to civil engineering two years ago after several years on extended maternity leave. I started on two days a week as a principal civil engineer and have since been promoted to an associate director and now lead a team of 30 engineers adjusting my hours to suit my workload,” Karen says.

Join Karen and other talented women at AECOM via a range of exciting career vacancies - or check out their career Returner Programme.

Amazon supports parents and caregivers

If you're looking to return to a career full-time or if you'd prefer to slowly transition back into the professional career world via a part-time role, then either way Amazon could be for you. Amazon truly values its employees - and they are from very diverse backgrounds, ethnicities, career paths and education. This is makes Amazon's culture different.

Having a career break for a few years then trying to reintegrate back into the professional world can be challenging. However, Amazon knows that people come back into the workforce fully inspired and ready to progress. Amazon's Return to Work programme offers excellent.

#DayOfFamilies

So how is your employer celebrating International Day of Families? And do you have access to tremendous support like flexible working, a family-friendly work culture, excellent leave options and more? If not, find yourself an employer who offers industry leading support for working families and make a move to a company that truly understands the complexities and challenges around balancing work and family commitments.