The remarkable accomplishments and achievements of women in all spheres of life across the globe are celebrated annually on the 8th of March as International Women’s Day.
In commemoration of the 2022 International Women’s Day, Babymigo, Nigeria’s largest and fastest growing community for parents and expecting mums has launched a first-of-its-kind campaign themed, ‘Nigeria’s 30 Best Places to Work for Mums’.
Through this initiative, Babymigo aims to recognise 30 best workplaces for mothers to applaud efforts and encourage organizations to develop policies, benefits, and internal practices that improve outcomes for working parents.
As a startup focused on developing innovative solutions and resources to equip and empower pregnant women and parents, Babymigo identifies with women across the world particularly African women who are faced with unimaginable challenges in a bid to successfully combine parenting with building a career.
“Being a parent is one of the toughest jobs there is and women often find themselves struggling to create time for both family and work. Finding this balance can be very overwhelming in a bid to ensure no part suffers for the other.
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“With this campaign, we will acknowledge and recognise the efforts of brands and organizations who have made it possible for women to achieve a great and healthy work-family balance despite the social restrictions that arise from combining parenting with career building,” said Kemi Olawoye, co-founder/CEO, Babymigo.
A previous report by UNICEF revealed investing in family friendly policies is good for families, businesses and economies. But for too many parents around the world, policies such as paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, childcare and child grants, are not a reality.
The lack of such policies compromises parents’ abilities to securely bond with their babies in the first critical years of life – a time, evidence tells us, when the combination of the right nourishment, a loving environment and stimulating care can strengthen a baby’s developing brain and give her the best start in life.
Not only do family-friendly policies pay off in healthier, better-educated children, greater gender equality and sustainable growth, these policies are linked to better workforce productivity and the ability to attract, motivate and retain employees.
Also in a statement released by Alive and Thrive, Nigeria has attained a mere 24% rate of exclusive breastfeeding as of 2017, far below the global target of 50% by 2025 set by the World Health Assembly (WHA). According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), women make up 48percent of the Nigerian labor force.
With the significant contributions that women make to the country’s economic growth as well as the proven benefits of breastfeeding to infants, mothers and countries, it is imperative that workplaces provide an enabling environment for women to thrive in the workplace. These include sustained implementation of family friendly policies, such as extended paid maternity leave, flexible work hours, provision of lactating rooms and creches, etc.
“Here is my philosophy, for us to see a significant improvement in any area of society, we must celebrate individuals and organizations getting it right, highlight what is done right and encourage others to follow suit,” said Olawoye.
According to her, Babymigo has a vision to empower 10 million parents and expecting moms across Africa to make informed decisions during pregnancy and parenthood thereby reducing avoidable maternal and infant mortality.
