Developing Policies and Procedures
Reviewing Policies and Procedures
Reviewing People Management Practices
Supporting Employees
Communicating Policies and Procedures

Developing Policies and Procedures

• Develop a policy to support women who are pregnant, returning from maternity leave or breastfeeding.
• Include pregnancy and potential pregnancy issues in your policy and training on workplace harassment and discrimination.
• Research what other companies have done to support women in this area.
• Hold a lunchtime workshop with several guest speakers who address how they balanced pregnancy/breastfeeding and work.
• Look for speakers to represent a diversity of backgrounds and experiences.
• Make a presentation to your management team with recommended actions to create an inclusive workplace for pregnant employees, and employees who are breastfeeding.
• Make sure your recommendations are sensitive to the needs of women from different cultural backgrounds.
• Provide a clean private room (other than a toilet) where employees can express breast milk or breastfeed their baby.
• Provide a comfortable chair, access to a small fridge and facilities for washing hands and expressing equipment.

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Reviewing Policies and Procedures

• Review your people management policies to ensure they are inclusive of pregnant and breastfeeding workers.
  • Are pregnant women allowed to attend doctors' appointments in work time?
  • Do you provide leave for women to participate in IVF programs?
  • Can they utilise their sick leave to attend these appointments?
  • Do these policies cover all pregnant employees, regardless of their employment status? And, is this information readily available to all employees?
• Develop a policy that supports breastfeeding in the workplace.
• Include lactation breaks for nursing mothers in your policy in a way that is flexible and which meets the mother's need and the business need.
• Conduct a focus group with your female staff to identify the challenges and opportunities for improving the workplace for pregnant and breastfeeding women. Make sure to include women of different cultural/religious backgrounds.
• Conduct a safety audit of your work environment to ensure it is safe for pregnant employees, and for any co-workers whose jobs are altered as a consequence of a change in tasks.
• Review maternity leave statistics - time off, return rates, return modes (for example, full-time and part-time returns, etc)
• Ensure mothers have flexible return to work options (for example, part-time work, job share) that assist them to continue breastfeeding.

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Reviewing People Management Practices

• Ensure pregnant, potentially pregnant and breastfeeding women get access to the same training and development as their peers.
• Ensure pregnant and breastfeeding women are still considered and recommended for roles as part of your succession planning.
• Ensure your organisation has provided an appropriate and reasonable work environment for pregnant employees (eg. seating, regular access to water and toilets).
• Involve staff working in your occupational health and safety area, and consult with occupational health and safety representatives, to ensure the workplace is safe for, and accommodates the needs of, pregnant employees.

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Supporting Employees

• Develop a parental leave information kit that contains the company parental leave, return to work and breastfeeding policies. Include both manager and staff responsibilities and a planner for the manager and the employee.
• Provide networking opportunities for your pregnant women to share experiences with mothers who have returned to work after maternity leave.

Communicating Policies and Procedures

• Ensure your policy and procedures in support of pregnancy, return from maternity leave and breastfeeding is communicated and accessible to all employees (including culturally and linguistically diverse women, disabled women).
• Educate your selection panels on how to interview pregnant and potentially pregnant women, and on how panels can ensure they do not discriminate.
• Encourage managers to talk with pregnant employees about:
  • Flexible work options available to women returning from maternity leave.
  • Any dependant care support that the company provides (for example, a telephone information service).
• Encourage managers to continue talking with employees so they can balance the needs of the individual and the business.
• Educate managers to not make assumptions about the capability of pregnant women. Also, keep in mind that women's cultural differences may influence how they communicate their pregnancy needs and values.
• Ensure the needs and requirements of pregnant women in a work team are discussed with other staff in the area, particularly if there is a need to change work allocation. This may help to avoid resentment within the team and the perception that pregnant women receive special treatment.
• Use training forums to 'mainstream' EEO issues (for example, cover Valuing and Managing Difference through Conditions of Service in induction training).
• Hold managers accountable for providing equal opportunity to pregnant and potentially pregnant women and women who are breastfeeding by including this requirement in managers' workplace and performance agreements.
• Encourage managers to lead by example when providing equal opportunity to pregnant and potentially pregnant women and women who are breastfeeding.

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