It’s a fact that talking about maternity and the job market is of great concern. This reality is even more evident in a country where women’s average salary diminishes as they have kids. Women with children earn 18.1% less than those without – this data comes from Pnad (National Poll by Home Sampling) Continua, by IBGE.
Given the many complaints about not getting hired, dismissals after returning from maternity leave, and lack of support in the professional environment, the distress of finding out about a pregnancy is a constant, when in fact, work shouldn’t be a concern. To give some context, according to an article by BBC News, with data from a poll by IBGE in 2021, “the employment rate for women between 25 and 49 years old who live with children of three years old or less is 54.6%, contrasting with the 89.2% of men in the same age and situation.”
Thinking about making pregnancy a less apprehensive period and reinforcing the commitment to supporting inclusion, Ternium offers their female collaborators the Maternity Mentoring program. It’s a program that assists women and their babies from pregnancy to the first trimester of reincorporating into their job.
The program's goal is to offer consultation and support to women close to giving birth so that they have access to maternity and continue their professional careers with peace of mind and safety. Besides consulting pregnant women, the program also guides managers through private sessions during the program’s four stages: Vision, Connection, Reinventing, and Projection.
According to Valéria Abreu, Business Partner Manager of Ternium Brazil, 21 women have already joined the program: “it’s rewarding to see the legacy of Maternity Mentoring in the development of these women and in procuring a more inclusive work environment for us,” she said.
Ingrid Person, one of the women participating in the program, a consultant of GEE and Energetic Efficiency of Ternium Brazil, considered it great to have someone worried about supporting women in this moment of preparation to receive a new life. She added that a mentorship is a valuable tool for women going through this transformation phase, where they tend to feel overwhelmed by daily life.
The program was a wonderful surprise to Angela Schwarc, a specialist in Contract Management. She says that her mentor demonstrated having plenty of experience in the topic during the orientations and her focus: “Besides being structured and technical, she was a great listener and supporter. This was my second pregnancy and, without a doubt, was entirely different from the first one, in a positive way. It was extraordinary. I also emphasized the involvement of my direct manager, Tiago Teixeira, in the program. His dedication contributed to my professional return with a lot of motivation. I want to say thank you,” she concluded.
Self-reflection is extremely necessary to combat prejudice, especially the unconscious ones, those that we perpetrate because the idea is strongly rooted in society. For this reason, Ternium always seeks to reflect on organizational behavior in social issues. The goal is to look inward and promote significant change that expresses the desire of the company to become a more inclusive and welcoming space for all of those who desire to join Ternium.
Currently, there’s a movement toward equality, like higher women hiring rates and a raise of the female figure in leadership positions in the job market. Corporate programs like Maternity Mentoring express their support for this inclusion movement. Especially during women’s month, we invite everyone to reflect even more on their role in contributing to an egalitarian society.