Liz Hall

Asda has joined the ranks of companies like Citibank and Sky which believe supporting female staff on maternity leave through coaching and mentoring helps them retain talented women.

The supermarket giant launched its mentoring initiative for female staff on maternity leave to coincide with International Women´s day on 8 March. Asda’s Leeds head office celebrated the centenary of International Women’s Day with an event featuring high-profile female speakers including career coach Karyl Innes and individual coaching sessions.

The ‘Mum2Mum’ scheme sees each mother-to-be assigned a mentor from the business, another working mother who will support them for a year. Participants will have two or three mentoring sessions in the three months before going on leave, remote contact while they are on leave, and another series of mentoring sessions in the first 6-9 months after returning to work.

The aim of the scheme is “to support women returning to work and help counteract the dips in confidence and motivation mothers go through while on maternity leave,” says Asda. Asda´s mission is to become the best place for women to work.
Meanwhile, union umbrella organisation the TUC has launched guidelines for employers on dealing with female employees suffering menopausal symptoms.