Gender Equality Effort Aims to Make Companies More Inclusive for Lactating Employees
Healthy Horizons Becomes a Gender Fair Preferred Provider
Gender Fair rates companies on gender equality and tracks care benefits of some of the country’s largest employers. Yet only 6.5% of companies in Gender Fair’s database provide lactation rooms.
“As companies now ask team members to return to the office, employers need to provide accommodations for lactating parents if they want them to return to the workplace.” says Cassi Janakos, COO of Healthy Horizons.
Established in 1991, Healthy Horizons was the first company to offer corporate lactation programs at scale. The company provides Mother’s Rooms and lactation benefits services for Fortune 100 organizations and top workplaces across North America. Now in their 30th year of business, Healthy Horizons has partnered with Gender Fair as a preferred provider.
Gender Fair certification was created in 2017 to report on gender equality practices in public, private and nonprofit organizations. Healthy Horizons has become a Gender Fair preferred provider. The partnership aims to provide advocacy, education and support for the wellbeing of employees returning to work after the birth of a baby.
Amy Cross, Founder of Gender Fair explains why the Gender Fair certification was developed. “The easier it is to support brands that support equality, the more frequently consumers will make purchasing decisions that do so,” says Cross.
Gender Fair and Healthy Horizons will conduct lactation room needs assessments for clients to help employers provide appropriate accommodations for their chest/breastfeeding employees. Healthy Horizons recommends this includes, at a minimum, a safe, clean and comfortable place to pump milk, access to adequate lactation equipment and parenting support resources, and sufficient time off for pump breaks.
Healthy Horizon has produced a new ebook for employers which shares best practices for corporate lactation programs. The ebook and more information about creating a welcoming and productive workplace lactation space can be found at https://www.healthyhorizons.com/pages/corporate-lactation-services.
“If we want equality for all genders in the workplace, we need to make it possible for employees to be able to balance work and family. For parents who are chestfeeding or breastfeeding, that means having time and a place to pump milk at work,” says Sheila Janakos, CEO of Healthy Horizons.
Janakos and Cross both have personal stories about the challenges they experienced when trying to balance career and family responsibilities after the birth of a child. “I wanted to breastfeed, but I lacked support from my employer, and I experienced a lot of negativity from managers and coworkers,” says Janakos. “It’s encouraging to see a lot of employers today who want to do more to support parents at work so that families and organizations can both thrive.”
In order to achieve Gender Fair certification, organizations must meet standards that include gender equality in company leadership; fair treatment of men and women at work; advancement opportunities; employee wellbeing; and promotion of equality through community initiatives and advocacy. Organizations with Gender Fair certification are a growing list including P&G, Microsoft, Johnson & Johnson, and Save the Children.
“As parents begin to transition back to in-person or hybrid work, it’s a great time for employers to take a moment to assess the needs of their employees who are nursing or have a partner who is nursing,” says Sheila Janakos.
About Healthy Horizons: Healthy Horizons was founded in 1991 by Sheila Dukas-Janakos, MPH, IBCLC, LE, RLC. Pioneering breastfeeding centers and corporate programs throughout the San Francisco Bay Area to better serve and educate mothers and families, Dukas-Janakos has received awards from the U.S. Congress and San Mateo County. An industry leader acutely focused on innovation, design, education and safety, Healthy Horizons’ client list includes numerous forward-thinking, employee-centric corporations, Fortune 100 companies and start-ups across the United States and Canada, such as Ford Motor Company, PayPal and Amgen. With Lactation Rooms in more than 100 cities, the Healthy Horizons team has positively impacted more than 100,000 women, parents, and children. Healthy Horizons values diversity and remains committed to staying woman-owned and women-run. To learn more about Healthy Horizons, visit healthyhorizons.com.
Ursula Zamora
Healthy Horizons Breastfeeding Centers & Corporate Lactation
+ 16507625447
