BALANCE MATTERS
Mayor’s Council for Women improving city by advocating for women in the workplace
Earlier this year, at a Mayor’s Council for Women event, a Chattanooga mom named Kim approached me with a question. Kim, a mother with a young child, was trying to enter the workforce but was struggling to find flexible employment or quality childcare for her young son. She wanted to know how we as a city and community can ensure more employers understand and value women like her. Kim had a great question. And it was a question I didn’t immediately have an answer to.
I formed the Mayor’s Council for Women to answer those kinds of questions. Led by City Councilwoman Carol Berz and state Rep. JoAnne Favors, the council spends hours researching issues that affect women and families in our city and then advocates for new policies to solve those tough challenges. Council members are constantly exploring new avenues to improve Chattanooga. In fact, the Economic Committee of the Mayor’s Council for Women has spent months studying barriers women face in the workplace and looking at existing programs that have empowered and encouraged working families.
So during my State of the City Address at the end of April, I gave Kim one answer to her question. I put forth a
challenge to area employers — both big and small — “Let’s figure out how to put Chattanooga families first.”
Implementing family friendly policies doesn’t just ease the burden on working families — it strengthens and grows our local economy. Survey data indicates that over 50 percent of working parents say they have turned down a job offer in the past year because it wouldn’t work for their family. For us to build our middle class as broadly as possible, we need to make sure people who want to be both great employees and great parents can find employment.
There are a number of benefits that help attract and retain employees with families, such as paid parental leave, on-site child care, flextime and much more. Each company has unique challenges, and their employees have different preferences. But as a city, we prosper when employers get this equation right. Family Friendly Workplace Challenge is one way to ensure everyone can participate in our workforce and maximize their talents — all while helping Chattanooga employers succeed and increase their productivity.
Already, we have seen support from many area employers. Our city’s second largest employer, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, is taking the challenge along with UTC, Chattanooga State, Tennessee American Water Co., and EPB. And of course, city government will take the challenge, too. Altogether, those large organizations employ 9,209 full-time Chattanooga workers.
Nationwide, both parents are working in six out of every 10 households, so the potential impact for the children and spouses of those working parents will certainly be exponential and far-reaching.
But the Family Friendly Workplace Challenge is not just for large companies. Small businesses and organizations with 50 or fewer employees are accepting the challenge, too, including Skuid, The Bread Basket, Co.LAB, Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce, CO.STARTERS, Epiphany Day Spa, and Ovalle’s Catering Co.
Employers who take the challenge have committed to engaging their employees and coming up with a plan to make their businesses attractive for working moms and dads. At the end of a year, we will highlight success stories and use them as a model for other businesses all around Chattanooga.
With 63 percent of women with kids working outside the home, we know there are a lot more moms out there like Kim. Not only are these women an important driver of our local economy, but the children they are raising will also someday lead our city. By providing a stable environment for young Chattanooga families, we are working to establish our region’s growth for generations to come.