A West Australian radio boss who says she keeps a jar of free condoms in the office for staff has been defended by former employees.
Southern Cross Austereo general manager Linda Wayman told a conference in Perth last week that 35 per cent of her staff were either on maternity leave or covering those on leave.
Ms Wayman said there was a big jar of condoms at work and she encouraged people to have protected sex.
"We do have a big jar of condoms at work. I'm not lying, I'm not exaggerating. I do encourage people regularly to have sex with condoms," she told the conference.
Chief executive Rhys Holleran said Ms Wayman's comments were made "tongue in cheek".
Ms Wayman also said she didn't agree with the union push that women returning from maternity leave should come back part-time automatically because it was an idealistic and anti-commercial stance, however maternity contracts played an important role in developing young talent.
The radio boss said she believed in flexible working arrangements but they were difficult to arrange in the 24-hour media industry.
"I've been in the same position myself twice and it is very, very tough," she said.
"There's no such thing as a work/life balance, it's bulls*** - you just do it.
"You make the decision and do the best you can, and as a leader, I do the best I can to help women and men who have made those decisions as well."
However, Ms Wayman's comments, which drew laughter and applause at the conference, attracted criticism after they were reported on Thursday.
Former employees jumped to her defence, describing her as a supportive boss.
Perth TV reporter Lisa Fernandez told AAP Ms Wayman was "tremendous" when she fell pregnant at the start of her two-year contract at radio station Mix 94.5.
"She said `don't even worry, we will make this work, we will help you all we can'," Ms Fernandez said.
"She always came in to check that I was getting home OK on time to see the baby and she would always check in with me to say `is everything OK?'."
Ms Fernandez said Ms Wayman's door was always open to talk about any sort of parenting issue and she would bend over backwards to help employees, such as letting them leave early or getting them into a job-sharing role.
Fairfax Media 6PR breakfast presenter Basil Zempilas tweeted he had never seen a boss more supportive of women in the workplace than Ms Wayman.
Share
