One of the topics not often spoken about in workplace diversity and inclusion conversations is childlessness — particularly when it is not by choice. This experience can also be deeply intersectional, shaped by factors such as gender, culture, and race.
This year, to mark World Childless Week (WCW), DCA invited Liz Campbell — a passionate advocate for the global Childless Not By Choice (#CNBC) community — to share her reflections.
World Childless Week (WCW) has been a great source of comfort & inspiration for the global #childlessnotbychoice (CNBC) community.
World Childless Week was founded in 2017 by Stephanie Joy Phillips to raise awareness and support for those who are childless not by choice. The week provides a platform for people to share stories, connect with others, and reduce the isolation and stigma that many experience. Each day of the week focuses on a different theme, from exploring personal stories, to confronting the stereotypes of childlessness, to envisioning what life can look like moving forward. Importantly, WCW helps break down the silence around this experience — one that is rarely acknowledged in mainstream culture and often misunderstood in workplaces.
Thanks to WCW, I am no longer alone as a person of colour navigating life without children. I have found joy and strength connecting with my local and international community. I know that my value as a woman is not defined by my reproductive system.
As the years pass by since my journey of trying to have a child ended, I am increasingly courageous in talking about my childless life. I can do this thanks to WCW and other CNBC champions.
Every year, the creator of WCW develops impactful themes for issues that affect our CNBC community. The week starts with “Our Stories” and ends with “Moving Forwards”.
A couple of years ago, I shared a submission for World Childless Week on the theme of Moving Forwards. I asked myself: how does one move forward when you are childless either by circumstances or infertility? It is definitely not easy but it’s also not impossible. I’ve accepted that it is possible to move forward in life without being able to have a human child. Building connections with others in a similar situation has really helped!
While I acknowledge that my furkids are not a substitute for human children, I know that the act of mothering is not limited to raising humans. I continue to look for ways to have a fulfilling life by creating new memories and traditions that are unique to me.
I want the topic to be less taboo.
In a society where having children is often assumed to be the “default path,” people who are childless not by choice can experience exclusion, misunderstanding, or bias. At work, this can show up in assumptions about flexibility, caring responsibilities, or even whether someone is perceived as having a “family”. Recognising these assumptions and making space for different life paths is an important part of building truly inclusive workplaces.
Here’s three suggestions for workplaces to consider for the inclusion of CNBC employees:
- Please try to avoid asking someone new “Do you have kids?” as a way to get to know them. This can be an incredibly intrusive question and can be particularly harmful. If they say “No”, please don’t ask any more questions.
- When organising certain events such as baby showers or contribution to gifts for someone going on parental leave, be mindful that this might be triggering for someone who is either going through fertility treatments, just had a miscarriage or just ended their fertility journey. If they choose to not attend such events, that should be accepted without further questions.
- Please consider how sharing pregnancy or birth announcements or gushing about Mother’s Day or Father’s Day may make someone CNBC feel. We want to be happy for you but the timing may not be ideal. Or it may be triggering as it may be a painful reminder of what they have missed out on.
I now openly talk at work about being CNBC and this year, WCW is listed on our D&I calendar!
Each year, WCW asks for CNBC people to submit an “#IamMe” photo to show that life as a childless person can be (and is!) fulfilling in many ways.
This year, my #IamMe photo highlights how my different roles help me to keep #RedefiningmyPlanA. This is an approach I created in August 2018 when I realised that a life without children is “not less” and I can still add value to the world around me. Thanks to social media, I find different ways to share my journey and can raise awareness for our CNBC community. I hope that I can make a difference in the lives of others like me.
Liz was born and raised in South-East Asia to parents of South Asian origin. She came to Australia in the late 80s and completed her tertiary education in Melbourne. Within multiple layers of intersectionality, Liz was raised with cultural expectations that “marriage and kids by 30” was never questioned. Liz chose to not yield to these pressures, using her 30s to travel the world and further her education. After marriage, Liz experienced the rollercoaster of infertility and having to accept she would never be able to become a mother (in conventional societal terms).
Since 2018, Liz has spent the past 8 years raising awareness of moving forward and thriving in life by #RedefiningmyPlanA and sharing her story to support others who are CNBC.
In 2022 , Liz was part of a first-ever Australian panel hosted by the Diversity Council of Australia (DCA) to talk about Childlessness in the Workplace and contributed to a DCA blog on different perspectives on Mother’s Day.
Having worked in the Victorian Public Service (VPS) for the past 21 years, Liz is proud to contribute to creating good public outcomes for her fellow Victorians. Liz is also involved in the VPS Women of Colour network to increase and improve diversity in the VPS.
Liz contributed to this DCA blog to raise awareness in the hopes of changing the narrative around childlessness in the workplace.
Additional resources
- Find out more on World Childless Week
- Read a previous blog on this topic: Childlessness – the unspoken workplace inclusion issue
DCA members can access these events: