Reflections on the Expansion of Part-Time Roles and Challenges Faced

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The idea of part-time roles came from the author's own experiences. Initially, part-time teams were created to provide support and address challenges, but now there is a push to expand into freestanding roles. Although part-time roles are gaining acceptance, it is still a challenge to convince individual hiring managers to replace full-time positions with part-time ones. The author suggests that embracing the decimal point and creating positions like 5.6 could be a simple solution to encourage the adoption of part-time roles.

When you see potential for your company to improve in some way—whether it’s to overhaul an outdated policy, round out benefits, or to make jobs more workable, how can you instigate change? Three women who Amy B interviewed during Women at Work’s April 27 live virtual event saw that potential and carried it through, to programs and policies that are making a difference:

Myra Orndoff, a senior manager at Capital One, campaigned for the company to create more part-time tech jobs after she went part time herself as a way to stay in the workforce while raising four kids.

Stephanie LeBlanc, who leads Google’s global programming for women of color, launched and continues to refine an annual summit that’s become a focal point of the multinational’s DEI strategy because of the positive effects it’s had on retention and advancement.

Becky Guenther persuaded Rehmann, the financial services firm where she leads HR, to give its employees free maternity, eldercare, and mental health counseling.

What can we learn from their advocacy and persuasion skills? How are they tracking their programs’ impact on women’s health, representation, and job satisfaction—and what are the results so far? How can you follow their lead? They fill us in.

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