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Speaker 1: God, Heather, do to see us?

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Speaker 2: Nine two ninety two is the text number. Standard text

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Speaker 2: fees apply. We'll talk to the ComCom after five. Now,

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Speaker 2: is the cost of becoming a parent too much to

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Speaker 2: bear in the modern age? Apparently seventy percent of us

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Speaker 2: here in New Zealand believe that the financial and childcare

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Speaker 2: pressures on parents are getting harder. This is according to

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Speaker 2: new research from Kiwibank, and as a result, Kiwibank has

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Speaker 2: decided to make it easier to be a parent. Working

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Speaker 2: there now, Charlotte Ward is the Keywibank Chief people officer

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Speaker 2: with us. Now, Hey, Charlotte, Hello, how are you?

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Speaker 1: Thanks for having me?

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

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Speaker 1: To be honest, I'm not too surprised. It's really similar

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Speaker 1: to some of the feedback that we were getting from

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Speaker 1: our people as well, when we're asking them what is

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Speaker 1: actually making it hard for them and their work and

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Speaker 1: particularly becoming parents. So and in a lot of ways,

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Speaker 1: the research concerns what our people are already telling us.

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Speaker 2: So what is it that they say so hard about

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Speaker 2: becoming a parent?

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Speaker 1: I mean, one of the things is that we from

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Speaker 1: the research sixty three percent of people agree that there's

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Speaker 1: sort of penalty in terms of income when people become parents,

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Speaker 1: and we know from praises like the motherhood Penalty that

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Speaker 1: the state really does just to proportionately affect women. Also,

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Speaker 1: fifty five percent of people in the research agree that

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Speaker 1: there's a penalty in terms of career advancement opportunities when

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Speaker 1: people become parents, and you can see that in some

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Speaker 1: of the other statistics around you know, women becoming CEO

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Speaker 1: or senior leadership positions as well. Because the factor is

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Speaker 1: that priorities change in the situation changes once people become parents.

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Speaker 2: So when we talk about a financial penalty, and when

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Speaker 2: we talk about a career penalty, we are talking about

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Speaker 2: the parent who chooses to take the paternity or maternity

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Speaker 2: leave right.

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Speaker 1: Often, yes, but I think that that's one of the

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Speaker 1: things that's up for us to change through competies.

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Speaker 2: Is there another penalty, I mean, because that's the only

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Speaker 2: one I can think of. What's the other career or

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Speaker 2: financial penalty for parents? Yeah?

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Speaker 1: Well, I mean there's an immediate penalty when people take

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Speaker 1: time off that they're not over the course of somebody's career.

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Speaker 1: And what person does have to be the primary caregiver.

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Speaker 1: You're right in terms of the way that we've set

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Speaker 1: it up at the moment. Then it's those advancement opportunities

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Speaker 1: that we see, but probably some wider impacts on that

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Speaker 1: as well.

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Speaker 2: And so so what are you doing to remedy this?

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Speaker 1: So at Chemi Bank from both through the results of

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Speaker 1: the research but actually through those conversations with our people

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Speaker 1: as well. We're introducing some things, and some things are big,

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Speaker 1: like increasing the primary care a leave. We have baby

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Speaker 1: bonus payments and baby bonus leaves for primary caregivers, also

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Speaker 1: for secondary cares as well, so we're trying to get

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Speaker 1: mums and dads involved as much as possible and importantly

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Speaker 1: continuing key we savor while people are off on leave,

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Speaker 1: but also some of the smaller things too, like flexible

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Speaker 1: return to work and then ensuring that we've got time

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Speaker 1: for appointments for people. There is often lots of time

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Speaker 1: needed for scans, midwife appointments, follow ups. And then actually

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Speaker 1: we're looking at parenthood in a bit of a broader

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Speaker 1: way as well, so thinking about fertility treatment, preparation for thurrogacy,

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Speaker 1: egg donation, things like that that can actually have a

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Speaker 1: really big impact in the way people are feeling at

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Speaker 1: that stage of their life.

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Speaker 2: I mean, I think it's noble what you guys are doing.

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Speaker 2: I mean, obviously six months paternity leavers is great. It's

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Speaker 2: not every business office that, but this does feel a

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Speaker 2: little just a little bit wingy. I mean some of

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Speaker 2: the stuff that like, for example, I'll draw your attention

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Speaker 2: to this right. The research has shown that more than

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Speaker 2: one third thirty seven percent of kiwis have self selected

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Speaker 2: out of a role or chosen not to apply for

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Speaker 2: a different role because they were a parent or thinking

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Speaker 2: about becoming Well, that's just being a parent. Like I'm

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Speaker 2: not going to apply for a role as a journalist

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Speaker 2: in Afghanistan?

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Speaker 1: Am I?

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Speaker 2: Because I'm a parent? There's just life? Why wouldn't it

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Speaker 2: about it?

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Speaker 1: Part of it, part of it. I'm not sure it's winging.

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Speaker 1: I probably challenge that a little bit. I mean, don't

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Speaker 1: we have to have this conversation and say, can we

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Speaker 1: do better at a society given that we know.

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Speaker 2: How are you going to make a stand better for

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Speaker 2: me as a parent, Charlotte?

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Speaker 1: And there will be some things that are not appropriate,

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Speaker 1: but actually something we can make smaller dotments that would

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Speaker 1: actually make it easier, right, And it might be you know,

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Speaker 1: I'll come in a little bit later after school drop off,

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Speaker 1: but I'll stay for later. Or I'll leave to do

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Speaker 1: a school pickup, but then I'll loll back on later.

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Speaker 1: You know, those are the small You know, flexibility might

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Speaker 1: be one small thing that actually doesn't cost anything. It's

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Speaker 1: just a mindset change rather than a big cost to us.

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Speaker 2: Fair enough, Charlotte was, thank you. We can all do right, Yeah,

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Speaker 2: twenty six weeks eternity leave a and maternity leave. What

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Speaker 2: a good idea for everybody. Not that I'm talking to

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Speaker 2: anybody in particular current bosses anyway, that's Charlotte Ward here

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Speaker 2: we Bank Chief. I'm going to getting so much trouble

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Speaker 2: for that later on. Anyway, just if I disappear next

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Speaker 2: week is because I did that and that Charlotte Ward,

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Speaker 2: the chief people Officer of kigh. We day for more

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Speaker 2: from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to news talks.

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Speaker 2: It'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow the podcast

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Speaker 2: on iHeartRadio.