Supporting women at work

It’s incredibly easy these days for a business to say that they support women, but it’s the tangible things they do that make the difference.

At Tax Traders, we’ve never been ones for performative actions. If we’re going to do something, we commit fully. We integrate an idea into our policies, we formalise those policies, and most important of all, we practice them.

Our policies reflect our commitment to seeing people holistically and our desire to see our people and their families thrive during their employment with us and into the future. We are willing to try new things, think outside the box, and give more than expected to ensure the success of our people.

So, what exactly do we do for women at Tax Traders? Here’s a small sampling of the policies we currently have in place.

Acknowledge the relationship between work and home life

For us, the idea around supporting women at work begins not at the office, but at the home. We understand that for many women, the bulk of household tasks that keep a family running fall on their shoulders. With that in mind, Tax Traders is committed to seeing more women have real choices available to them in terms of how they combine their vocation, their parenting, and the role they play in their family relationships.  We want to provide women with a range of meaningful options, so they don’t have to choose between work or parenting.

Childcare support

With our in-office nanny support, parents can bring their little one(s) into the office if this makes it easier for them to combine parenting with their vocation. Tax Traders provides a nanny, so you can focus on work, knowing that your little one is safe, happy and well-cared for. This applies to either parent, whether you’re the primary caregiver or not.

Fully flexible working arrangements

Tax Traders provides all team members with what they need to allow them to combine work and parenting in a way that best suits their family.  This can include flexible working hours, flexible or varied responsibilities, an amendment to meeting times and venues, different tools of trade and more. 

For team members who choose to spend some time working from home, we will provide you with an exceptional home office set up, including furniture, hardware, internet provision and whatever else is required. 

Parental leave

Bringing a new human into the world is an incredibly challenging time for both parents. For women, having a partner who can share the load in those first few months is priceless, as is knowing that your role and income are safeguarded for you.

Tax Traders is proud to offer six months of paid parental leave for all parents at full pay – this applies whether you are the primary caregiver or not (if you are entitled to government support, we will “top up” this government leave to provide six months of paid parental leave). You can use this leave flexibly, in whatever way suits you and your family over the first 24 months of your child’s life.

For our new parents, meals and support as they adjust to their new normal are a given. In addition, we offer unlimited access to parenting coaches when they feel they need some outside advice.

To make the transition back to work easier, we also offer reduced hours for an additional six months, on full pay. Team members can return to work for 30 hours a week and be paid full time, in a flexible way that suits their family over the first 24 months of their child’s life. We also realise that parents often need to take more leave than most to care for sick kids, so we have no effective limit on sick leave.

For our women in particular, we’re aware of the shift that comes with parenthood, and the inclination to ‘opt-out’ of the workforce despite their career ambitions. We believe doing so should be a choice, and not a matter of circumstance. We hope that they can continue in their careers if they choose to, while thriving in their new role as a parent.

Dads too!

We also know that there are many benefits to offering paid parental leave to the non-primary care giving parent, typically the father. These benefits are well documented now and include benefits for the child, parent, and parenting relationship. We also know this goes a long way to levelling the playing field for working mothers.

Make yourself at home

Drinks, snacks, and plenty of toys to play with? Say no more! Our office is family friendly, and children are always welcome to join us. We have children in most days of the week, and that doesn’t stop when the term ends. Over the past few years, we’ve held school holiday programmes to make it that much easier for our parents.

It's our hope that by developing these inclusive, generous policies, we can inspire other businesses to do the same. We also acknowledge that we’re not perfect, and that while these policies serve us well for now, we need to always be striving to improve and better serve our team members.

Interested in making a change at your organisation? We’re happy to share our findings and advice on implementing these policies. Please reach out to us at team@taxtraders.co.nz.