Downing Street honour for Harrow business

One business helped by Harrow in Business has made it to Number 10 and received an official thumbs up from Gordon Brown, Prime Minister.

www.Jobs4mothers.com is a website helping match mothers returning to work with employers offering part time and flexible jobs. Launched in 2006 with the help of Harrow in Business (HiB), it has grown across the UK and now has 20,000 registered users.

The company recently launched its ‘Jobs4Mums awards’ in conjunction with Take a Break magazine, the UK’s largest selling women’s magazine. The awards recognize those companies that actively encourage parents to return to work through family-friendly working conditions.

The awards were even backed by Number 10, with Harriet Harman MP, Minister for Women and Equality, acting as one of the competition judges. Ms Harman also hosted the Jobs4Mums award ceremony at a Downing Street event attended by Gordon Brown.

After the awards were presented, the Prime Minister then made time to take Kristina Abdat and Selina Smith, co-founders of Jobs4mothers, on a personal tour of Number 10 as a way of thanking them for their efforts.

Kristina Abdat said: “We’ve come a long way since we originally went to Harrow in Business for help setting up the business. Our HiB business mentor John Hockin has been with us all the way in the last three years, helping us launch, go national and now even get invited to Number 10. It would have been a much harder journey without HiB and John’s advice.”

Selina Smith added: “Gordon Brown said he thought Jobs4mothers was a great campaign and he was really behind it. We’re delighted that Downing Street has backed the awards in such a positive way. It’s a real feather in our caps.”

The Jobs4mums award winners included BT where 97% of new mums return to work after maternity leave thanks to family-friendly working hours such as term time working, and an Oxford-based law firm, Henmans, where at least one solicitor has been made a partner while on maternity leave.