Talking about the reasons women leave the mainstream workforce, S Vaitheeswaran gives out tips to swing back into their career
Women today are one of the most powerful consumers across the world and the impact they have on the economy is exhibiting a rising trend every year. Despite this fact, it cannot be ignored that women are leaving the mainstream workforce in multitudes.
Global Workforce Gender Gap
The conversation around bringing women back to work is gaining momentum globally. However, when it comes to the male-female workplace ratio, India is ranked at the 87th position (as per the Global Gender Gap Index Report 2016 by World Economic Forum). In comparison to a global average of 40 per cent, Indian women represent only 24 per cent of the mainstream workforce.
In fact, India can increase its 2025 gross domestic product (GDP), estimated at $4.83 trillion, between 16 per cent to 60 per cent simply by enabling women to participate in the economy on par with men (as per the McKinsey Global Institute 2015 Report).
The 4 Ws of the Challenge
Workforce re-employability: One of the major reasons why women take a break in their career is due to maternity or other caregiving reasons. The temporary break from work makes it very difficult for women to make a re-entry into the industry altogether. The entire situation becomes very tricky for new mothers to return to work after a break especially with the unemployment rates showing an upward trend and the abundance in the availability of their male counterparts.
Workplace flexibility: A lot of workplaces do not offer flexible work options. As a result, due to lack of availability of quality day care centres and work flexibility options, many women are absolutely unable to return to work.
Work break to back to work transition: The transition from a career break to back to work is very tough for women who are out of touch from their jobs for some months or years. It leads to lack of confidence, fear of dealing with peers, and stultifying of skillsets. The inhibitions lead to a lot of women not returning to work even after having all the required qualifications.
Work culture insensitivity: A lot of organisations seem to maintain an insensitive work culture towards women who are back to work. Women re-joining the workforce are generally not considered as assets for the company. The employers mostly assume that working mothers are likely to take more leaves and will easily quit jobs.
A lot of times women availing maternity leaves are denied promotions or may even be forced to take pay cuts. The fear of facing discrimination also hinders women to either return back to work or continue working after availing maternity leave.
It is imperative for employers across the world to realise that merely building a supportive and facilitative culture for women coming back to work is not enough. In fact, it is more of a national obligation for each and every employer to ensure that women who are highly skilled and with work experience are reinstated once again in the industry after their career break.
The Way Forward
Women who believe the ‘world is my oyster’ actually see a larger number of opportunities coming their way. Attitude definitely counts. Some of things that benefit women while returning to work after a career break are:
Upskilling yourself: learn, learn and learn more. Joining a part-time course or an e-learning programme before you return to mainstream workforce will work in your favour. Upskilling yourself will give you more confidence and will enhance your value for your prospective employer.
The right upskilling helps most women transition smoothly from a career break to back to work. You might even consider a specialist programme in women leadership to enhance your management profile.
Taking up short-term projects: Taking up short term freelancing work assignments or work from home assignments before jumping into the mainstream workforce is a great way to ease yourself into a full-time career and be free from re-entry blues. Also, transitioning from a part-time role to full time role is always a smoother process than directly taking up a full-time role after a break.
Be prepared for interviews: Outlining your qualifications and work experience before your break always helps. Give a brief explanation for your break. You don’t have to be apologetic or try to justify your break. Revolving the conversation around your recent upskilling courses and your avid interest in various current trends and technologies is a great idea.
leverage social networks: Social networks are the new-age job hunting tools. Create your linkedIn profile and connect with the prominent people in your industry. Use your old contacts to help you connect with potential employers on linkedIn. Follow the most inspiring industry leaders on Twitter, participate in industry forums to update yourself on the recent trends in the industry. The opportunity might just come knocking at your door!
Value returnship programmes: For women in the IT space, look out for organisations that offer returnship programmes. Returnship programmes will give you an opportunity to work on the latest projects while using most recent technologies. In particular, look out for companies that offer women leadership and diversity programmes. This will give you a holistic view on what is going on in the industry and will boost your overall skills and confidence level.
You need to be absolutely confident about your strengths. No career break can undervalue your strengths or what you have achieved before. Focus on your strengths and you never know, the right employer maybe just a click away!
(The writer is MD and CEO of Manipal Global Education Services)