Vodafone champions power to working mothers

Providing sixteen weeks of fully paid maternity leave is generous compared to many companies – and goes far beyond the legal minimum in many of the countries in which Vodafone operates.However, the company argues that the cost of recruiting and training replacements for women who leave work after having a baby is estimated at $47bn while the cost of providing 16 weeks paid maternity leave is just $28bn; a potential saving of$19bn. The new policy reaches further than the initial maternity period as it offers mothers a four day week at full pay for six months when they do return to work. Globally the additional days spent with their babies is estimated by Vodafone to save families around $14bn in child care costs.

Vittorio Colao, Vodafone CEO, was keen to point out the difference that the policy will make for its women employees;

“Too many talented women leave working life because they face a difficult choice between either caring for a newborn baby or maintaining their careers. Our new mandatory minimum global maternity policy will support over 1,000 Vodafone women employees every year in countries with little or no statutory maternity”.

It is this lateral and flexible approach to business that has helped Vodafone to develop a reputation as a forward thinking multinational corporation. The company is keen to develop as a business service provider and has curated a full portfolio of products and services aimed at bringing corporate benefits to SME’s at an affordable price. Products designed to bring flexible working through innovative solutions, such as their own unique service OneNet, or Microsoft’s Office 365 are twinned with their Secure Device Manager to offer peace of mind.

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