Charlotte Ward: Kiwibank Chief People Officer addresses 'parent penalty' impacting Kiwi households

Many Kiwis are concerned the costs of being a parent have reached an unreasonable level.

According to new research from Kiwibank, 70 percent of people believe the financial and child-care pressures on parents have gotten harder in the modern world.

Kiwibank's Chief People Officer, Charlotte Ward, says people feel there's a 'penalty' that comes with choosing parenthood.

"We know from phrases like 'the motherhood penalty' that this actually does disproportionately affect women. Also, 55 percent of people from the research agree there's a penalty in terms of career advancement opportunity." 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
God, Heather, do to see us?

Speaker 2 (00:02):
Nine two ninety two is the text number. Standard text
fees apply. We'll talk to the ComCom after five. Now,
is the cost of becoming a parent too much to
bear in the modern age? Apparently seventy percent of us
here in New Zealand believe that the financial and childcare
pressures on parents are getting harder. This is according to
new research from Kiwibank, and as a result, Kiwibank has
decided to make it easier to be a parent. Working
there now, Charlotte Ward is the Keywibank Chief people officer

(00:24):
with us. Now, Hey, Charlotte, Hello, how are you?

Speaker 1 (00:27):
Thanks for having me?

Speaker 2 (00:28):
Yeah, You're more than welcome. Are you surprised by the finding?

Speaker 1 (00:32):
To be honest, I'm not too surprised. It's really similar
to some of the feedback that we were getting from
our people as well, when we're asking them what is
actually making it hard for them and their work and
particularly becoming parents. So and in a lot of ways,
the research concerns what our people are already telling us.

Speaker 2 (00:49):
So what is it that they say so hard about
becoming a parent?

Speaker 1 (00:54):
I mean, one of the things is that we from
the research sixty three percent of people agree that there's
sort of penalty in terms of income when people become parents,
and we know from praises like the motherhood Penalty that
the state really does just to proportionately affect women. Also,
fifty five percent of people in the research agree that
there's a penalty in terms of career advancement opportunities when

(01:16):
people become parents, and you can see that in some
of the other statistics around you know, women becoming CEO
or senior leadership positions as well. Because the factor is
that priorities change in the situation changes once people become parents.

Speaker 2 (01:32):
So when we talk about a financial penalty, and when
we talk about a career penalty, we are talking about
the parent who chooses to take the paternity or maternity
leave right.

Speaker 1 (01:41):
Often, yes, but I think that that's one of the
things that's up for us to change through competies.

Speaker 2 (01:46):
Is there another penalty, I mean, because that's the only
one I can think of. What's the other career or
financial penalty for parents? Yeah?

Speaker 1 (01:55):
Well, I mean there's an immediate penalty when people take
time off that they're not over the course of somebody's career.
And what person does have to be the primary caregiver.
You're right in terms of the way that we've set
it up at the moment. Then it's those advancement opportunities
that we see, but probably some wider impacts on that
as well.

Speaker 2 (02:17):
And so so what are you doing to remedy this?

Speaker 1 (02:20):
So at Chemi Bank from both through the results of
the research but actually through those conversations with our people
as well. We're introducing some things, and some things are big,
like increasing the primary care a leave. We have baby
bonus payments and baby bonus leaves for primary caregivers, also
for secondary cares as well, so we're trying to get

(02:43):
mums and dads involved as much as possible and importantly
continuing key we savor while people are off on leave,
but also some of the smaller things too, like flexible
return to work and then ensuring that we've got time
for appointments for people. There is often lots of time
needed for scans, midwife appointments, follow ups. And then actually

(03:07):
we're looking at parenthood in a bit of a broader
way as well, so thinking about fertility treatment, preparation for thurrogacy,
egg donation, things like that that can actually have a
really big impact in the way people are feeling at
that stage of their life.

Speaker 2 (03:23):
I mean, I think it's noble what you guys are doing.
I mean, obviously six months paternity leavers is great. It's
not every business office that, but this does feel a
little just a little bit wingy. I mean some of
the stuff that like, for example, I'll draw your attention
to this right. The research has shown that more than
one third thirty seven percent of kiwis have self selected
out of a role or chosen not to apply for

(03:45):
a different role because they were a parent or thinking
about becoming Well, that's just being a parent. Like I'm
not going to apply for a role as a journalist
in Afghanistan?

Speaker 1 (03:53):
Am I?

Speaker 2 (03:53):
Because I'm a parent? There's just life? Why wouldn't it
about it?

Speaker 1 (03:58):
Part of it, part of it. I'm not sure it's winging.
I probably challenge that a little bit. I mean, don't
we have to have this conversation and say, can we
do better at a society given that we know.

Speaker 2 (04:09):
How are you going to make a stand better for
me as a parent, Charlotte?

Speaker 1 (04:13):
And there will be some things that are not appropriate,
but actually something we can make smaller dotments that would
actually make it easier, right, And it might be you know,
I'll come in a little bit later after school drop off,
but I'll stay for later. Or I'll leave to do
a school pickup, but then I'll loll back on later.
You know, those are the small You know, flexibility might

(04:36):
be one small thing that actually doesn't cost anything. It's
just a mindset change rather than a big cost to us.

Speaker 2 (04:43):
Fair enough, Charlotte was, thank you. We can all do right, Yeah,
twenty six weeks eternity leave a and maternity leave. What
a good idea for everybody. Not that I'm talking to
anybody in particular current bosses anyway, that's Charlotte Ward here
we Bank Chief. I'm going to getting so much trouble
for that later on. Anyway, just if I disappear next

(05:03):
week is because I did that and that Charlotte Ward,
the chief people Officer of kigh. We day for more
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