On the 6th of October 2020, Powernet officially received accreditation as a Breastfeeding Friendly Workplace (BFW), a program facilitated by the Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA). It enables workplaces to offer employment conditions that support women to combine breastfeeding and work, including lactation breaks, flexible work options and access to private facilities to express breastmilk.
Though supporting breastfeeding employees is simple and inexpensive for employers, it can make an enormous difference to working mothers. Bernard Moran, CEO at Powernet announced that, ‘At a time when nearly 50% of women return to work within 12 months of giving birth, we are proud to offer a flexible workplace enabling women to combine breastfeeding and work. By providing access to breastfeeding support in the workplace, Powernet is assisting women to meet family and economic needs throughout their career’.
By gaining accreditation as a Breastfeeding Friendly Workplace, Powernet is cementing our place as a leader in the area of family-friendly practice.
Working to gain BFW accreditation demonstrates a balance between the organisation’s strategic objectives including optimising recruitment and retention, with a commitment to employee health and wellbeing, equal employment opportunity, diversity and corporate social responsibility.
The ABA commends Powernet on their accreditation. ABA President, Margaret Grove says, ‘Returning to work from maternity leave can be a stressful time for women and maternal employment has been shown to have a negative effect on breastfeeding. Providing support at this time of change is of great value to mothers, babies and the community. Establishing breastfeeding support as normal within the work environment has flow-on effects by contributing to a breastfeeding-friendly culture on a broader level in our society.’
Bernard went on to say ‘Powernet hopes to lead by example and would like to see breastfeeding support widely adopted in the workplace setting making it universally available to Australian women.’
The ABA is proud to be involved in developing partnerships and working closely with employers to assist them to meet BFW criteria in order to provide this vital support to their employees. Breastfeeding Friendly Workplace Accreditation delivers innovation in creating family-friendly workplaces and is a tangible, practical tool for employers that enables parents and carers to better balance work and family commitments.
For further information, please contact:
Breastfeeding Friendly Workplace contact:
03 9690 4620
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