Are Businesses in Africa Leaving Money on the Table by Ignoring Working Parents? with Soledad Sanchez Canamares

Episode 230 with Soledad Sanchez Canamares, Family Friendly Workplace Policy Specialist at UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa, where she works with businesses, governments, and development partners to advance workplace policies that improve employee wellbeing, talent retention, workforce productivity, and long term business performance.

As organisations across Africa and around the world face growing talent shortages, rising employee turnover, and changing workforce expectations, family friendly workplace policies are increasingly being recognised as a competitive advantage rather than simply an employee benefit. In this episode, Soledad explains why policies such as paid parental leave, childcare support, flexible working arrangements, and breastfeeding accommodations are becoming critical tools for attracting and retaining talent, improving workforce participation, and strengthening organisational resilience.

Drawing on global evidence, business case studies, and UNICEF's Family Friendly Policies Toolkit, Soledad explores the relationship between workforce wellbeing and business performance. She discusses how employers can improve employee retention, productivity, engagement, and gender equality while building stronger and more resilient organisations. The conversation also examines the economic impact of care responsibilities, the role of workplace flexibility in the future of work, and why supporting working parents is increasingly being viewed as a business growth strategy.

The discussion focuses on the African context, where informality remains high and many businesses operate with limited resources.

What We Discuss With Soleded

• Why businesses may be losing money by failing to invest in family friendly workplace policies.
• Whether Africa is leaving billions in economic growth untapped because workplaces are not designed around how people actually live and care for their families.
• The hidden link between talent shortages, employee turnover, and the lack of support for working parents and caregivers.
• What family friendly workplace policies look like in Africa's informal economy, SMEs, and labour intensive industries where traditional models often fall short.
• Why investors, multinational companies, and global supply chains are increasingly treating family friendly policies as a competitiveness and business resilience issue.

Did you miss my previous episode where I discuss The Grandmothers Helping Solve Africa's Mental Health Crisis? Make sure to check it out!

Connect with Terser:
LinkedIn – Terser Adamu
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Twitter (X) – @TerserAdamu

Connect with Soledad
LinkedIn – Soledad Sánchez-Cañamares Ríos

Many of the businesses unlocking opportunities in Africa don’t do it alone. If you’d like strategic support on entering or expanding across African markets, reach out to our partners ETK Group:

www.etkgroup.co.uk
info@etkgroup.co.uk