💡Research findings!💡
- Serena Williams
- Mar 31
- 2 min read
The research findings are out!!
Today marks the release of the findings and policy documents from over 18 months of bump & glide research with the Universities of Southampton and Keele. The Research shows the importance and impact of bump & glide ’Maternity Mentoring’, a distinctive style of mentoring which allows women to reflect in a safe non-judgemental space, to feel understood, valued and listened to and, just as importantly, to be able to continue to thrive in a time of upheaval and unknown.
If you’ve been following the bump & glide journey over the years, you will know why I believe so passionately in what it can do to improve the lives of women who are pregnant, on maternity leave and returning to work, as well as the businesses these women work for, or who are looking to attract, recruit and retain these women in their organisations
The challenges women and the businesses they work for face aren’t new around the time of pregnancy, leave and the return to work. Yet, sadly - and frustratingly - what women and businesses have been telling me over the past several years hasn’t changed - and isn’t set to - unless businesses are more progressive, forward-thinking and open-minded and look outside the box, not simply tick a box..
The challenges are still there, the issues remain.
No amount of extra time on leave, gym memberships or policies - that aren’t often understood or followed through - will cut it, unless we are more preventative instead of reactive - and still, we’re often reacting too late…
There’s a plethora of issues that need addressing in this space such as maternity discrimination, the gender pay gap, the very low uptake of shared parental leave, infertility, birth trauma, flexible working and the menopause to name a few - and a number of organisations are addressing these issues and making waves in their own areas.
However, where bump & glide differs, is that it focuses on the topics of wellbeing, knowledge and confidence.. self-esteem, awareness and motivation. Without these things, how can we expect people to have the resilience and determination to address all the others?
The aim was, and continues to be, to support women through the time of ‘Matrescence’ and support businesses to keep this incredible talent, which they may have spent over a decade investing in!
I never set out thinking I could single-handedly fix what is a very broken support structure, but I did set out to make a difference.
A difference to individuals and businesses alike.
📑 You can find the report and policy documents at the links below:
Maternity Mentoring: Making the most of maternity leave for you and your employees
Making Maternity Work: Improving return-to-work after maternity leave
Maternity Mentoring Toolkit: Accelerating Impact of Philosophical and Psychological Research to Improve Perinatal Employee Support and Communication (MaMeT) Project Report
I’d love to hear your thoughts and to speak with you about how bump & glide can help you. It won’t break your budgets but without it, your employees may well just keep ‘breaking’ instead...
Be the difference.
Make a difference.
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