Can women have it all?

Gender equality has made important strides in the workplace these past years. At MCB, for instance, an array of progressive measures meant to support employees in their role as parents has been introduced over the years. But women are struggling to balance motherhood and work, frequently having to choose one over the other. 

In the latest episode of MCB Talk, three women, Hema Cederhague, Head of Securities at MCB, Anne Claire Antoinette, Sustainability Lead at the bank and Shakila Badouraly, MCB’s Diversity and Inclusion Lead, open up about what it takes to climb the career ladder and parent simultaneously. As the world marks International Women’s Day 2025, they discuss the progress made in Mauritius and the new challenges arising from the notion of “equality.”

And conclude that instead of seeing parenthood as a constraint for employees, employers and policymakers should reflect on their role in fostering a healthy society made up of functioning families, both as a demographic and economic imperative.

A support system to create equity

While Anne Claire Antoinette, 41, mother of three and Hema Cederhague, 50, mother of one, both acknowledge that a working mother will have to sacrifice either work or family, Shakila Badouraly, Diversity and Inclusion Lead at MCB says that’s why equity is important, adding that working parents need to be given a support system that allows them to enjoy the same opportunities that are opened to others unencumbered by parental obligations.

She said a support system is a concrete example of equity, citing the measures MCB has introduced to support employees who are parents—parental leave, flexi-time arrangements, childcare allowance, and caregiver policy, among others. But, she added, there also needs to be a mindset shift, inside and outside of the company, regarding the role of parents.

A society that supports families

“What kind of society do we want? Healthy families are the foundation of a healthy society. That’s why it’s important for employers to really consider how they treat families”, added Anne Claire, saying that families mattered to businesses as well because they need clients and employees, and this goes through families with babies. “Especially with an ageing population. It’s not just about the feelings of mothers and fathers; supporting families is also an economic decision”, she purports.

A matter of choice

Yet, as useful as support systems and supportive employers are, there’s still a choice to be made about whether work should be prioritised over family or vice versa. Hema, Head of Securities at MCB, runs a team of 60 people and is one among six women to be part of the bank’s Leadership Team. If it seems at the outset that she “has arrived” and has it all, she says that she is acutely aware of the sacrifices she’s had to make to get where she is.

“I may seem to be doing everything right, but I sacrifice a lot as well. I don’t spend as much time with my daughter as I would like to; I’m not present in her life as much as I would like to. I’m not a very present daughter, I know it, and I feel guilty about it. I’m not a very present wife, so I think I do make a lot of sacrifices. At the end of the day, it’s all about time. How do you use that time? Work takes up a lot of my time, so then I must give up on a lot of things”, she said, adding that this wasn’t the life she had pictured.

Anne Claire, on the other hand, has chosen to prioritise her family over her career. Although she has a fulfilling job, she’s happy to leave the office early to spend time with her boys. Her husband, also an MCB employee, has equally chosen not to go for a high-profile job for the moment, preferring to spend time with the boys and coach their football team. 

A time for everything

Anne Claire is very clear about how parenthood changes one’s perspective. She says there are two realities for working women. One before they have children and one after they’ve become mothers. While before, she felt she was on the same footing as her male colleagues, her priorities simply changed, and she felt she had to let professional opportunities go. But she feels it’s just a hiatus, saying that in some ten years’ time, when her children won’t be needing her as much, “I’ll be in a position to give some acceleration to my career and be at the top at 55. And that’s fine for me because I’m enjoying what I’m going through right now.”

 Anne Claire adds that she’s considering going part-time for a while so she can focus on her children. Shakila confirmed that MCB can grant this type of temporary measure to its employees in specific cases pending a request.

Fathers taking their responsibility seriously

But it seems this isn’t an issue that only concerns women as men become more active fathers. Both Anne Claire and Hema have involved spouses who take their role as fathers very seriously. While this is an increasing trend, the participants in the podcast felt that many men hesitate to ask for time off to tend to their children.

“It’s a challenge for some of them because they can’t say I’m leaving early because my child is sick because they feel their colleagues would say- you don’t have a wife to do that?” says Anne Claire. The sentiment was, however, that things tend to be different if the head is a woman or an involved father.

Man versus woman

A possible backlash from male colleagues who may feel that gender equality policies favour women was also discussed, with both Hema and Anne Claire stressing the need for proper communication on those measures. “In reality, before, there were not enough women in the pool for them to get promoted because there was a lack of equity. Now we’re making it fair for both men and women as it will be the best candidate that will get the job”, Hema said.

The three colleagues agreed that the problem lay in the way society still judges traditional male and female roles and said that the slow reversal of roles currently taking place was also a way of showing the next generation that there’s no such thing as a man’s job or a woman’s job.

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