Women returning to work need upskilling, mentoring

Almost 48 per cent of Indian women quit work midway to attend to familial commitments

Many women quit their jobs to tend to their familial matters. For most of them, this marks the end of their career. However, in the past decade or so, women have been taking the decision to return to work and kickstart their second phase of career after a sabbatical.

But, the path to resuming their career is filled with many challenges — lack of support from family, significant pay cut on reentry, absence of a strong network that can help with referrals and skill gap being the most common ones. Still, a daunting barrier almost every woman deals with in such a scenario is that of getting hired in the first place.

Why women take a break

As per a study ‘Viewpoint 2019’ by AVTAR, a diversity and workplace inclusion expert company, close to 48 per cent of Indian women quit work midway to attend to familial commitments. This, the report suggested, leaves 15 per cent at the mid-level and only 5 percent of women at senior executive positions.

The study also found that maternity (35 per cent) and motherhood related challenges (45 per cent) are the most common reasons for women to take a break from their careers. Close to 16 per cent take breaks to care for the elderly. Only 4 per cent of women surveyed said they took breaks to pursue higher education.

Return to work programs

Realising the challenges that women face when they decide to return to work, there has been an increase in the number of companies and platforms that work towards helping women kick start their career for the second time. Companies across industries, such as Capgemini, Amazon, Credit Suisse, Tata Steel and Godrej have launched return programs, while many others have placed policies that would make it easier for women to make a comeback.

Upskilling helped her become up-to-date
Sapna Giddegowda, IT professional with VMware, took a break from work after she relocated to India from the US. “My kid was very young, so I thought I will take a break for a year I can be there for him. However, during that time I conceived my second baby. I decided that I would start working after my daughter turns five.”

After eight years, when she decided to get back to work, she knew that it would not be easy to find a job. The gap in her resume made it impossible to even land an interview. So she joined VMware’s inclusion programme, Taara. The initiative that was curated in association with Women Who Code, allows women to receive free technical training and certification courses that can help in updating their knowledge in latest technologies.

The upskilling, Sapna says, not only helped her become up-to-date with the changes in her field, but built up her confidence. With the technology industry going through changes on a regular basis, a hiatus can lead to a gap in knowledge, which the programme aims to fix.

Women who return to work face bias
Harini Thammaiah, engineering program manager at PayPal, took a year’s break to tend to her responsibilities as a mother. “I had a support system in place initially. But, circumstances changed and I decided to put my career on hold,” she says.

The decision to make the return came with many doubts. “The biggest one was figuring out what stage my career is at. I wondered if my past experience even mattered, or if I had to start off as a fresher,” she says.

She was helped by JobsForHer, an online portal, which was started about five years ago by Neha Bagaria with the aim of helping women accelerate their careers. Neha herself took a break of three-and-a-half years after she relocated to Bengaluru with her husband post marriage.

“When I decided to start off my career again, I noticed that there were so many people that I knew, ambitious and skilled, but had no intention of returning to work,” she says. This motivated her to set up the platform. Initially, when she approached companies to join her cause many rejected her saying that they don’t wish to hire married women or
mothers.

Through the platform, they help these women find a mentor who can guide them and also connect them with companies through an online marketplace-like model.
They ensure that the companies they choose to partner with are family-friendly, she says.

“We can gauge this through several factors. One, would be their willingness to open doors, in the first place. Their policies for maternity and paternity
leave, the measures they have in place to ensure the safety of their female employees, the diversity initiatives they have in place, testimonies from their female employees, and of the women leadership positions,” she says. The heavy vetting process ensures that the women who do return to work have a much smoother transition.

Women who decide to return to work need a completely different kind of management degree, she says. Even when they get hired, they continue to struggle with guilt —
of either being at work instead of their family or for wanting to be with the family —fear of having to prove themselves, and with certain biases from coworkers.
“They also have undue pressure to manage their time better. They have to prioritise their work and job, and not slack at either, which is a tough line to toe,” she explains

Women can increase India's GDP substantially

According to a report, ‘The Power of Parity: Advancing Women’s Equality in the Asia Pacific’, published by McKinsey World Institute in 2018, women’s contribution to India’s GDP (gross domestic product) stands at 18 per cent, one of the lowest in the world. It is important to note that only 25 per cent of India’s labour force is female. More than 70 per cent of the potential GDP growth opportunity comes from increasing women’s participation, the report added.

The report also suggests that the country could boost its GDP to more than 5 lakh crores by providing equal opportunities to women.

Apart from the value-added to the economy, helping women return to work has social and personal benefits. Women spend 90 per cent of their income on their families. Adding to this, economically empowered women boost demand, have happier and better-educated children and raise human development levels as per UN research.

“Having financial stability is extremely important, which is why it is crucial for women to have a job. It also helps in boosting one’s confidence and also one’s mental health,” says Shruti Mittal.

Companies too benefit from making the choice to hire such women, says Neha Bagaria. “Whenever we approach a company we showcase how this helps their bottom line. These women are driven by the need to prove themselves, which makes them more productive than any other employee. There is also the fact that their gap does not erase their years of experience. Plus, they would always be loyal and committed to the company that decided to give them the second chance they needed.”

Financial empowerment is important
Anshu Archit Jhunjhunwla, founder of Food For Thought, shut down her business to become a stay-at-home mom. “I realised that I was doing a good job at it, but I
also needed financial stability. I chose to start a food business from home as I didn’t have enough funds to start a new business," she explains.

She started off her business by catering at home for small orders until she was able to take on bigger events. She sought the help of Flo, the ladies organisation of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). The organisation’s programme Swayam works towards mentoring women who wish to start their own businesses. “Women are very good at putting themselves down. We wish to instil them with the confidence they need to capitalise on their skills,” xplains Shruti Mittal, chairperson of the Bengaluru chapter of Flo. They organise events and workshops to this end.

The community also works as a marketplace for entrepreneurs and provides opportunities for collaborations. They also work towards providing skills to underprivileged women, in an effort to financially empower them. “We give training in areas such as hospitality, garland making, or even mehndi designing. This allows them to set up home-businesses,” she explains.

Women can increase India's GDP substantially
According to a report, ‘The Power of Parity: Advancing Women’s Equality in the Asia Pacific’, published by McKinsey World Institute in 2018, women’s contribution to India’s GDP (gross domestic product) stands at 18 per cent, one of the lowest in the world. It is important to note that only 25 per cent of India’s labour force is female. More than 70 per cent of the potential GDP growth opportunity comes from increasing women’s participation, the report added.

The report also suggests that the country could boost its GDP to more than 5 lakh crores by providing equal opportunities to women. Apart from the value added to the economy, helping women return to work has social and personal benefits. Women spend 90 per cent of their income on their families. Adding to this, economically empowered women boost demand, have happier and better educated children and raise human development levels as per a UN research.

“Having financial stability is extremely important, which is why it is crucial for women to have a job. It also helps in boosting one’s confidence and also one’s mental health,” says Shruti Mittal.

Companies too benefit from making the choice to hire such women, says Neha Bagaria. “Whenever we approach a company we showcase how this helps their bottomline. These women are driven by the need to prove themselves, which makes them more productive than any other employee. There is also the fact that their gap does not erase their years of experience. Plus, they would always be loyal and committed to the company that decided to give them the second chance they needed.”