The challenges faced by nursing mothers at work, especially those in hourly, lower-wage positions, are very real. We know that 77 percent of mothers in retail or lower-wage jobs give up breastfeeding after returning to work. This is because continuing to breastfeed at work is so difficult– especially for those who don’t have access to a clean or private place to pump milk, scheduling flexibility to do so, or a supportive manager.
Health care reform was intended to address this problem last year– for the first time, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) was amended to require employers to provide nonexempt nursing mothers with reasonable break time and a sanitary, private space, that is not a bathroom, to pump milk at work. While this new federal law spotlighted an important health issue and helped remove the workplace as a barrier to breastfeeding, there is still much to be done to educate businesses about lactation programs and workplace support for nursing mothers.
Indeed, although we now have a federal workplace lactation provision on the books, only 28 percent of businesses have lactation programs. And, according to a survey conducted for Corporate Voices by Public Policy Polling, with generous support from Workplace Options, 57 percent of people are not aware of the new federal workplace lactation law.
Given that mothers with infants are one of the largest and fastest-growing segments in the workforce, particularly in lower-wage industries, helping to support nursing mothers at work is a priority for the economic security and health of mothers, infants and working families in America.
We also know that there is a business case for breastfeeding. Best practice employers have long known that work-life supports like lactation programs improve bottom-line results. Through improved recruitment, retention, productivity and lower health care costs, supporting nursing mothers at work makes good business sense.
Stephen M. Wing, president of Corporate Voices, said,
“Employers that recognize the business benefits of breastfeeding play a critical role in promoting economic self-sufficiency among lower-wage working families—especially vital during these tough economic times. But along with recognizing the benefits of breastfeeding, employers need resources and tools to implement successful lactation programs, which is why we have rereleased our lactation toolkit.”
Indeed, Corporate Voices for Working Families has produced a free, high-quality and up-to-date online workplace lactation toolkit for employers to help them comply with the new law and establish lactation programs to support their nursing mothers. Titled “Healthy Babies Make Happy Moms and Excellent Employees,” the toolkit includes:
- Employer talking points to help facilitate a conversation about breastfeeding
- Lactation room checklists and worksheets
- Breastfeeding resources fliers supervisors can give to employees
- Breastfeeding tips and techniques in 21 languages
- Break Room and Lactation Room posters
- Success stories, and more!
By making these tools and resources available, and by highlighting what works across industries, Corporate Voices aims to close the gap in lactation support, help working families and help businesses become more competitive in the 21st century.
(Corporate Voices plans to conduct a targeted outreach campaign to raise awareness about this toolkit in the employer, health professional, non-profit and advocacy communities. If you are interested in helping spread the word about this toolkit or to learn more about Corporate Voices’ workplace lactation program, contact Yvonne Siu.)
In a push to meet President Obama’s goal of having America lead the world in college completion by 2020, Vice President Biden issued a call to states to do their part at America’s Promise Alliance’s Building a Grad Nation Summit in Washington, D.C. late last month. At the Summit, he said:
“Right now we’ve got an education system that works like a funnel when we need it to work like a pipeline.”
His statement highlighted a serious problem plaguing America’s higher education system– while more than 70 percent of high school graduates enroll in some kind of advanced education within two years, just over one-half of bachelor’s degree candidates complete their degree within six years, and less than one-third of associate’s degree candidates earn their degree within three years.
Given that a majority of jobs within the next decade will require at least some postsecondary education, addressing this problem is a priority for our future economic prosperity.
First, Vice President Biden urged governors to hold college completion summits in their states to raise the profile of this issue, and to spur dialogue and action to raise each state’s share of college graduates it produces.
He also unveiled a College Completion Toolkit, published by the Department of Education, which includes seven strategies states could use to boost their numbers of college graduates.
These strategies include:
- Setting goals and developing action plans
- Embracing performance-based funding for higher education institutions
- Aligning high school exit standards to college entrance requirements
- Making it easier for students to transfer and
- Targeting adults with some college but no degree.
Indeed, the toolkit points out that by targeting those with some college but no degree, states could go a long way towards meeting President Obama’s 2020 goal.
To complement the College Completion Toolkit, the Department of Education also published calculations breaking down each state’s share of additional college degrees it would need to produce to meet the 2020 goal.
Vice President Biden also announced new financial resources the administration is making available to help states meet the 2020 goal, such as the 2011 Comprehensive Grant Program, which will provide $20 million to colleges to implement plans that can increase success and improve productivity in postsecondary schools.
While states have an important role to play in increasing the preparedness of America’s workforce, so does the business community. While states can raise the profile of the importance of college completion and can help create incentives for schools to produce more graduates, businesses can also play a positive and important role in partnering with colleges and local governments to build and enhance the talent pipeline.
This is especially true with respect to lower-income young adults, who face a challenging time completing their degrees due to financial strains and, oftentimes, eldercare or childcare responsibilities. In many instances, businesses have found ways to enable these young adults to work while going to school, supporting their education through mentoring, internship opportunities, tuition support and flexible scheduling. In return, these businesses take an active role in developing their talent base.
Stephen M. Wing, Corporate Voices’ president and new member of America’s Promise Alliance’s Board of Trustees, participated in the Summit, and said,
“Innovative partnerships between employers and community colleges are so important because, in reality, so many community college students must work in order to support themselves and their families.”
Corporate Voices for Working Families believes that these types of Learn and Earn models are beneficial for businesses, workers, colleges and communities. Under the auspices of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, it has documented the imperative of employer and community college Learn and Earn partnerships, and is continuing to identify and encourage these types of models of talent development.
As one of Corporate Voices’ newest reports illustrates, the need to engage the business community in building the capacity of our workforce is real, as53 percent of business leaders report having a challenging time recruiting employees with the skills and education their companies need, despite our high levels of unemployment.
Through engagement in Ready by 21, Corporate Voices is also working with businesses and other local stakeholders to help communities improve the odds that all youth will be ready for college, work and life. And, through its New Options Project, Corporate Voices is engaging the employer community to create career pathways for disconnected young adults, a largely overlooked pool of untapped talent.
So, as states do their part to meet the administration’s call for higher college completion rates, businesses and employers can also embrace meaningful programs and practices to retain and develop key talent and help improve America’s competitiveness in the global economy.
(If you are interested in participating as either a leader or learner of successful business-led talent development programs within Corporate Voices’ workforce readiness work, please contact Sara Toland at stoland@corporatevoices.org.)
Corporate Voices for Working Families has released a valuable new resource to help community leaders and employers collaborate to support children, youth and families in their communities. Understanding the Needs of Your Business Partners: Building and Conducting a Successful Business Survey offers practical advice to community organizations, helping them work strategically with employers in their region and guiding them through a business survey to better understand the landscape of business investments in their community. The publication is the latest addition to a unique suite of tools offered by Corporate Voices, based on a decade of experience studying the workforce needs and expectations of employers nationwide. It was released last week at “Community Solutions,” a conference of Ready by 21® communities across the Southeastern United States.
“At a time when our nation’s prosperity depends more than ever on a well-educated workforce, too many young Americans remain poorly equipped to excel in school today and in the economy of tomorrow,” said Stephen M. Wing, President of Corporate Voices. “Our tools for community-business engagement aim to address an urgent goal: strengthening and expanding the most effective public-private partnerships to ensure that more young people can step confidently into the exciting jobs of the future.”
Corporate Voices’ community-business engagement tools are produced in connection with the Ready by 21® National Partnership, an initiative helping improve the odds that all youth will be ready for college, work and life. The centerpiece of our resource library is Supporting the Education Pipeline: A Business Engagement Toolkit for Community-Based Organizations, published in late 2010 in partnership with United Way Worldwide and the Workforce Strategy Center.
Others useful resources in the suite include:
The full set of tools may be accessed on Corporate Voices’ website at http://www.cvworkingfamilies.org/our-work/workforce-readiness/ready-21/tools-resources-business-community-leaders.
The challenges faced by nursing mothers at work, especially those in hourly, lower-wage positions, are very real. We know that 77 percent of mothers in retail or lower-wage jobs give up breastfeeding after returning to work. This is because continuing to breastfeed at work is so difficult– especially for those who don’t have access to a clean or private place to pump milk, scheduling flexibility to do so, or a supportive manager.
