8 March 2021: MiP’s online event to mark International Women’s Day will examine how flexible working can help women progress in the workplace and how employers can make new working practices benefit staff as well as their organisations. 

The last 12 months have changed how many of us will work for good. A huge proportion of the population worked from home for the first time, or worked more flexibly due to childcare issues caused by school closures, or in order to manage other caring responsibilities. The NHS, as the largest employer of women in the UK, has a duty to take this issue seriously, and to make lasting changes which will improve the workplace for everyone.

Flexible working was a women’s issue before the Covid-19 pandemic, and we already know that the pandemic has had a devastating impact on women’s economic participation, as well as job progression and prospects. A third of working mothers have reported losing work or hours due to a lack of childcare during the pandemic, some as a direct consequence of lack of flexibility from employers. So how do we ensure that flexible working becomes the norm after the Covid-19 pandemic is over, and how do we ensure that it works for everyone in the NHS? 

At our event, we will examine how accessible flexible working can help women progress in the workplace, as well as discussing how employers can help make flexible options work for their employees, not just for their organisation. 

The event will be held at 12:30pm-1:30pm on Monday 8 March. You do not have to be a woman to attend.

The event will be chaired by Sandie Belcher, MiP Vice-Chair, facilitated by Helen Carr, Head of Operations at MiP, and our speakers will be: 

• Natasha Owusu, policy lead on flexible working at the TUC
• Professor Marie-Pierre Moreau, Professor of Education at Anglia Ruskin University

You can register for the online event here.​