With Mother’s Day having been celebrated on Sunday, 26 May, we look at how working mothers in Mauritius are walking the taut tightrope between managing family responsibilities and running a successful career.
In this interview with Francoise Chan, Executive Director at Intercontinental Trust Ltd, we ask her what it takes to strike a balance between personal fulfilment and professional success. She notes that a conducive environment at the home and workplace is key. In addition, opportunities for mentorship, peer-to-peer learning and work from home can make a world of difference as women wear various hats and juggle diverse responsibilities. By implementing inclusive practices, Mauritius can tap further into this invaluable resource. Significantly, National Budget 2023/24 urged listed companies to have a minimum of 25% female representation on their Board of Directors. Moreover, a Women in Investment and Finance Charter was launched last year.
Clearly, much more remains to be done as only a little over 40% of women of working age find place in the workforce compared to 65.3% of men of working age. Further, only 18% of women occupy board seats in Mauritius, compared to a global average of 23.3%.
On the sidelines of the Women in Investment and Finance workshop, we glean insights from Francoise on how other women can tread the path to a successful career and explore leadership avenues. Excerpts:
As a working mother, what would be the three factors that helped you to progress along your career and achieve a leadership position?
Francoise: Firstly, what helped me immensely at the start of my career is that I joined a company that believed in the value of training. Back in 1994, we didn’t have the internet or advanced technology, so we lacked access to online training. To curtail this shortage, we were provided with significant in-person training, not only in terms of technical skills but soft skills as well. I believe it is very important for women to hone our communication skills as it helps us become assertive and have more self-confidence. These training programmes were definitely instrumental in shaping my career.
Secondly, when I started my family, it was undeniably challenging to balance my new role as a mother with my career. At that time, technology was not as advanced, so remote working was not an option, and we were expected to be present in the office. Having a solid support system was vital and I was blessed to have multi-generational support from my parents, my in-laws, and most importantly, my spouse.
The third factor was the fortune of working with someone who, not only believed in women, but also strongly believed in diversity and inclusion. Inclusion, in my opinion, is a mindset and early on, in my career, this person acted as a mentor. He made me feel valued, included me in conversations, and ensured I was involved even in management meetings. Working with the right people who support and believe in one’s potential truly helped me a lot. Whilst everyone talks about the glass ceiling, I am thankful that my mentor did not think there ever was a ceiling that I had to shatter as a woman to prove myself.
Apart from the above, on-the-job attributes, what would be the role of formalised leadership programmes in helping women scale to the next level?
Francoise: Indeed, many skills can be honed on the job, which involves a great deal of personal development in areas like communication, amongst others. However, leadership programmes are also very important. For instance, negotiation skills take years to hone but with the proper training, these can now be learnt earlier, rather than later, in our career.
As you move up the corporate ladder, whether you are interacting with your internal stakeholders, or external ones, it’s essential to be better equipped to manage resources, your people, and expectations. For that, you absolutely need to fine-tune your negotiation skills to achieve the optimum outcome. In these cases, leadership programmes are key as they build on your technical expertise to stretch your skills sets way beyond. Leadership training can fill the gap between technical skills and managerial/ leadership capabilities, providing targeted development in these areas.
There is also another aspect to leadership programmes that might not be obvious but definitely plays a key role for women’s growth: the peer-to-peer apprenticeship avenues. Let’s not forget that such programmes are also a great platform for women across the sector to meet up and have a chat about the state of the economy, and workplaces within. This, in itself, is an informal training in terms of learning what other corporates are doing, where they have succeeded, what strategies did not work and the like. Such interactions broaden your thinking horizon and your network at the same time.
Empowered Women Empower Programme at ITL by members of the C-suite
What is the career path open to a working woman who joins ITL and seeks leadership avenues?
Francoise: At ITL, we have established a few programmes that support working women.
For instance, we initiated the Empowered Women Empower Programme which is a forum wherein we have regular discussions with women from our broader organisation, as ITL is part of a larger entity called Imperium Holdings. These sessions are animated by our C-suite ladies and gentlemen who spark that much-needed conversation around topics such as gender parity, how to succeed in the corporate arena, the challenges that working women of today face, and how to overcome those, amongst others.
Additionally, we offer a mentorship scheme where each employee is assigned a mentor. This has proven to be a very helpful tool for career development and navigating the unique challenges one may encounter professionally or personally.
Are there any specific schemes targeting working mothers, in particular, at ITL?
Francoise: We have launched the first part-time structured employment scheme in Mauritius called iQuest targeted at working mothers, which aims to re-employ women who need to balance their professional lives with caring for young children. Those who have taken a maternity break to care for their children can now join back the corporate arena.
Besides, the scheme also caters for those ladies who have retired but would still like to take up a part-time employment, and even those who have, for any reason, taken a career break, such as looking after elderly parents.
In addition, like many companies today, we offer remote working options. This programme has been especially well-received by women who appreciate the flexibility of working from home while managing family responsibilities.
Finally, as a working mother with two sons who are making their careers overseas, how do we get diaspora to come back to Mauritius?
Francoise: The common misconception among the diaspora is that Mauritius lacks opportunities, which is not necessarily the case anymore. We have witnessed over the years, and it’s been a hot topic for a decade or more now, that we have the brain drain challenge. Multiple reasons account for the same, and we will need to examine the factors closely to find a way to stop it, or at least decelerate this worrying trend. Right now, Mauritius has a population pyramid with a smaller base – given the increasing old population – and if we do not remedy the situation now, we will suffer in a few years.
Getting the diaspora to come back is a matter of making Mauritius more lucrative for them, be it in terms of learning and growth, pay package, or even a more engaging social life. We have opportunities in Mauritius, but we need to have a proper career development pathway to groom our talent into leaders – when we spot potential, why wait for 10 years of experience to promote that talent into a managerial role? This is something that we at ITL, are very attentive to.
So, I think there’s a lot of work to do with the diaspora, to showcase what opportunities are in Mauritius, because they have the same career here, but in a better environment, especially for families.
