I Spoke to 20+ Experts About Single Parents at Work. Here’s What Stood Out
Over the past year, each month I’ve hosted a LinkedIn Live panel with experts to unpack what support for single parents can look like in the workplace and why it matters for organisations.
Across 10 conversations with over 20 experts, including HR leaders, workplace strategists, employment specialists, leadership coaches and employee network leads, I started to notice some clear themes emerging.
I’ve been sharing those five insights over the past few weeks, but I wanted to bring them together in one place and look at what these conversations have highlighted about supporting single parents at work, where organisations can unintentionally get it wrong and what they can do differently.
The gap between being family-friendly and being genuinely inclusive
One of the strongest themes to come through in my conversations was a simple one: you can't support what you don't understand.
Many organisations have made great progress in supporting working parents, with flexible working policies, family benefits, parent networks and initiatives designed to help employees balance work and family life. But it is difficult to create meaningful support for a group of employees if you don't first understand what their experience actually looks like.
For single parents, that means recognising that their experience of work and family life can be very different. Workplace support is often built around an assumed version of family life, where there are two parents sharing the childcare, emergencies and practical and mental load. For a single parent, there is no second adult to step in when something goes wrong or share those responsibilities.
When organisations take the time to understand the reality of single parenthood, they can start to see where their current approach may be falling short and where there is an opportunity to do things differently.
Flexible working is more than just having a policy
Flexible working came up repeatedly in my conversations, but what became clear was that having a policy is only part of the picture.
For single parents, flexibility can determine whether work is sustainable in the first place. Without another parent at home to step in when something changes, rigid working patterns or unexpected clashes can have a much bigger impact.
But even when flexibility technically exists, employees may still feel uncomfortable using it. They may worry that working different hours will make them look less committed, feel they need to overcompensate or assume certain opportunities are not available to them because they cannot fit a traditional working pattern.
So it is worth looking beyond whether you have a flexible working policy and asking how flexibility actually works in practice.
How do managers respond to it? How is commitment measured? Can employees use the flexibility available to them without worrying that it will affect how they are perceived or their ability to progress?
Those questions can tell you far more about how flexible your workplace really is than the policy itself.
Managers make a huge difference
If there was one person who came up in almost every conversation, it was the line manager.
HR may create the policy, but the manager is often the person who shapes what an employee actually experiences day to day. Most managers want to do the right thing, but good intentions are not always enough.
Without understanding the different challenges single parents may be navigating, managers can make assumptions about someone's ambition, availability or commitment without realising it. They may avoid conversations because they are worried about saying the wrong thing, or miss signs that someone is struggling because the employee is working hard to keep everything looking fine.
This is why manager training needs to go beyond explaining policies. Managers need to understand different family realities, recognise their own assumptions and feel confident having practical conversations about what support might work.
They do not need to become experts in single parenthood. They need to listen, ask questions and deal with the individual in front of them rather than relying on assumptions about what someone's family circumstances mean for their work.
The career penalty organisations don't always see
Another theme that came through strongly was the impact workplace structures can have on career progression for single parents. This is not about single parents lacking ambition. It is about whether the way work is structured allows different family realities to succeed.
Career progression can still be associated with being highly visible, staying late, travelling, taking opportunities at short notice or simply being available outside traditional working hours. None of these things automatically make someone more capable or committed, but they can influence who gets noticed and who gets opportunities.
When commitment is still associated with these traditional ways of working, there can be a hidden career penalty for single parents. They may be just as ambitious and capable, but their potential can be overlooked because the workplace rewards a particular way of working.
Organisations can start to challenge this by looking at who is accessing development opportunities and progressing, and questioning whether flexibility or reduced visibility is being interpreted as reduced ambition.
Culture brings everything together
The final theme for me was culture. An organisation can have strong policies, flexible working, family benefits and employee networks, but culture determines how employees actually experience them and whether they feel valued and included.
For single parents, there can still be a fear of being perceived as less committed or ambitious. Someone may have the flexibility they need on paper but feel uncomfortable asking for it, or avoid talking about the challenges they are experiencing because they do not want to be seen as difficult.
Creating a culture where different family structures are understood and valued can help reduce that stigma. This might involve single-parent networks and ERGs, awareness sessions, or leaders and managers creating space for honest conversations. But ultimately, it comes down to the everyday messages employees receive about what is valued and accepted.
What I took away from the 10 conversations
After 10 conversations with more than 20 experts, what has become clear to me is that supporting single parents isn't simply about offering better benefits or ticking a box on an inclusion agenda.
It's about creating the conditions for experienced people to do their best work, progress in their careers and stay with the organisation.
When flexibility doesn't work, when managers make assumptions, when career structures reward visibility over contribution or when people don't feel comfortable asking for what they need, organisations can lose talent without necessarily understanding why.
That's why this conversation matters. Not because single parents need to be treated differently, but because organisations need to understand whether the way they work is allowing all of their people to succeed.
And I'm not done yet...
If there is one thing these conversations have taught me, it is just how important it is to keep talking about this.
Single parenthood is a reality for a significant part of the workforce, yet the specific workplace experience of single parents is still rarely talked about. Ten conversations in, I have got more questions than I started with because there is still so much to explore, and so much more for organisations to understand.
And as for the LinkedIn Lives, I'm by no means done. If anything, these conversations have made me realise just how important it is to keep creating space for this topic.
So if you want to keep learning, hear from different experts and be part of the conversation, follow along here on LinkedIn and be the first to hear when the next LinkedIn Live is coming up.
And of course huge thank you to the experts who contributed to the panels, further details of panelists and links to recordings below:
September 2025:
Louise Melles, Single Parent Nurture ERG Co-Lead at HSBC: Highlights the impact and benefits of HSBC’s Single Parent Nurture ERG, and how the group supports single parent employees.
Amy Grilli, Co-founder of Five Hour Club: Will discuss the importance of making roles truly accessible for parents, especially when navigating work around school runs and family commitments.
Thea Jeffe, Intercultural, Language & DEI Strategist: Shares her lived experience as a single parent in the workplace, offering insight into daily realities and practical needs.
Watch here
October 2025:
Ruth Talbot, Founder of Single Parents Rights: Brings frontline advocacy experience to highlight policy gaps and solutions for supporting single parents at work.
Alice Walton, Single Parent ERG Co-Lead at Microsoft: Highlights the impact and benefits of Microsoft’s Single Parent ERG, and how the group supports single parent employees.
Sarah Pike, Break Up & Divorce Specialist: Explores how employers can effectively support staff navigating divorce or separation.
Watch here
November 2025:
Kevin Kane, CEO of Shared Parenting Scotland: Brings policy and advocacy expertise to explore how workplaces can better support parents navigating separation and shared parenting.
Kirsten Smith, Leadership Coach, Trainer and HR Specialist, Shine: Shares insights on how managers and leaders can build inclusive, high-performing teams that support employees through complex family responsibilities.
Watch here
December 2025:
Jennifer Liston-Smith, Business Psychologist and Strategic Advisor on Working Parents & Carers: Brings expertise in work-life integration and employee life stages to explore what meaningful workplace support for single parents like.
Nicola Rae, Workplace Wellbeing & Performance Specialist: Shares strategies for helping organisations create inclusive environments where single parents can feel supported and perform at their best.
Watch here
January 2026:
Kerry White, Motherhood Clarity Coach and Workplace Wellbeing Specialist: Brings lived experience and coaching expertise on solo parenting helping workplaces understand and support employees throughout the full journey of family-building and parenting solo.
Sharon Livermore, Founder of Domestic Abuse Education: Shares expertise in educating organisations to recognise domestic abuse in the workplace and create supportive environments for employees including single parents navigating life after abusive relationships.
Antonio Ribeiro, Founder of Yurtle: Shares practical strategies for employers to offer accessible childcare solutions that help single parents balance work and family, reducing stress and absence while supporting wellbeing and performance.
Watch here
February 2026:
Dr Laura Radcliffe, Organisational Behaviour Researcher - Work-Life, Parenthood & Inclusion, University of Liverpool Management School
Laura will share insights from her research into how work identities shift for single parents, and what organisations can do to better support them in balancing career and family life.
Karen Hedges, Maternity Coach and Solo Parent
Karen brings her expertise as a maternity coach, exploring how programmes can overlook the needs of solo parents and sharing practical strategies to help them feel supported, valued, and able to perform at their best
Watch here
March 2026:
Charlie Beswick, Founder of Our Altered Life
Charlie highlights the often-hidden struggles of employees balancing work and caring responsibilities. She shares practical strategies to help workplaces move beyond policy and into behaviour, ensuring single parents and carers are seen, supported, and retained.
Kristyna Hawkett, Founder of MinusOne Club
Kristyna brings insight into the impact of divorce and separation on employees’ professional lives. A family mediator and coach, she explores how organisations can better support staff navigating complex life stages.
Astrid Allen, Flexible Working Specialist, Institute for Employment Studies
Astrid shares evidence-based strategies for designing flexible working that genuinely supports single parents. She explains how organisations can create practical, equitable arrangements that improve employee wellbeing and organisational performance.
Watch here
April 2026:
Marcie Shaoul, Author of The Co-Parenting Method & Creator of The High-Trust Teams Method. Shares insight into the challenges of co-parenting while working, offering practical guidance for organisations on supporting employees navigating complex parenting dynamics.
Monta Holmes, Breakup and Divorce Coach. Explores how employers can effectively support staff navigating divorce or separation.
Watch here
May 2026:
Marnel Stafford, Financial Advisor at Foster DenovoBrings expert insight into the financial realities of separation and single parenthood, helping organisations understand the impact on employee wellbeing and what practical support HR can offer around pensions, financial planning, and navigating financial change.
Maria Warren, HR Business Partner, Solo Parent Career & Life CoachCombines lived experience with HR expertise to share how organisations can better support single parents through inclusive policies, career progression, and meaningful workplace support.
Watch here
June 2026:
Sophie Cameron, Employment Law Specialist and Solo ParentBrings legal expertise and lived experience to explore how employment law, workplace policies, and the realities of single parenthood intersect and what organisations need to be aware of.
Kate Daly, Co-Founder of Amicable and host of ‘The Divorce Podcast’Shares insight into the financial and practical impact of separation, helping organisations better understand how this life transition affects employees at work.
Laura Birch, Executive & Leadership Coach and Solo Parent Offers perspective on the day-to-day realities of working as a solo parent and what effective, inclusive leadership support looks like in practice.
Watch here