More than 80 percent of parents say that what they look for in a job has radically changed since they had children. Revealing this is Promama, a web space founded by product manager, former Everli, Claudine Rollandin, whose mission is to revolutionize the paradigm of career moms.
Claudine becomes a mother in 2022 and suddenly realizes that the return-to-business goals she set during her pregnancy are no longer real. After months spent studying the employment data of women with children in Italy (1 in 2 women with children under the age of 6 do not work), she wakes up one day and changes her life. Thus Promama was born.
When you were born what were you?
I started on my own, I founded Promama at the end of May. We were and are a web platform that connects businesses and parents. We want to rebuild the paradigm of career moms. To help new parents re-enter the workforce or find roles that are more in line with their new needs, highlighting the advantage of having a father or mother as an employee and colleague.
What do you offer on the platform today?
We are a point of contact between companies and parents. On the one hand, we verify the companies that enter the platform through the Family Friendly Index, a metric that allows us to get a rating from them. If they are eligible, they can have access to the space and get a showcase page that tells them about themselves, post job offers and access dedicated content.
On the other hand, we offer mothers and fathers support. We help them in claiming their rights. In 2024 we will launch a pathway to accompany them back to work, focused on people who are unemployed as of today.
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Who is working on the project?
Today we are 3 women, all of whom have resigned post maternity leave. One works on marketing and community, another on partnerships and B2B. And I, as founder work full time on everything.
What is your business model then?
It is a B2B (business to business) business. An annual subscription model modulated to the size of the client company. With the Premium package we offer something, with the Basic something else. We will then activate a B2C (business to client) part with monthly support paths for parents.
What did you do before?
I was working as a product manager in a company, building and managing the digital platform. My job helped me to have a data-driven approach and to keep the customer at the center of all strategic thinking. I also worked in consulting and before that in a startup incubator in San Francisco.
And then what happened?
I got pregnant. I was gripped and tense because I had recently changed positions. I was desperate to get a promotion. I went on maternity leave with a lot of anxiety, convinced that I would have to be active again in no time.
Once I gave birth, I got back in touch with reality, realized that my needs had changed, and studying the employment data of women with children in Italy, I decided to try to improve the situation.
I did what I knew how to do: a digital product.
What is meant by level of attention to parenting in companies?
The level of attention is based on 4 main areas: flexibility (schedules, remote work), corporate culture (initiatives designed to make parents feel listened to accompanied and welcomed back), leave (if increased, for moms and especially dads), concrete and practical support (agreement with daycare centers and medical insurance).
And to date what is the level in companies?
I have to admit that the topic is increasingly heard, although the average is still not enough. Companies are moving to put people at the center. We work with companies that from the outside appear to be particularly attentive to these issues.
How do you combat gender inequality?
From a motherhood perspective, working on co-parenting at home to make the situation at work more balanced. I have in mind a graph by Claudia Goldin, Nobel Laureate in Economics who demonstrated the gender pay gap, which shows the drastic impact of the arrival of the first child. The wage gap between mothers and fathers begins to widen more and more from that very moment.
Having espoused this value mission, are you understood? Do you have investors?
As of today we are in the so-called bootstrapping phase (early stages of starting a startup independently, making use only of our own resources without relying on outside funders). We are not seeking funding and will not seek any for the next 12 months. If we can make it to breakeven without investment, my hat is off to you.
Have you encountered problems because you deal with the gender gap?
In talking to companies, we happened to find those who were not so sensitive to the issue. Biases in the business world are many and quite strong. However, this is a residual part of the conversations I have had.
Can you make a living?
Not yet. We launched the platform in September. According to the business plan we will reach breakeven between the end of next year and 2025. Let's keep our fingers crossed!
Illustration by Gloria Dozio - Acrimònia Studios
Pictures by Claudine Rollandin
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