Restarting with Returnship Program!!
- Posted In : 2020-Jul-18
Beyond the Four Walls of Her Home, Her Dreams Rise - Part II
Job and career are two different concepts, career is derived from your passion, it is a long term plan, jobs are a part of your career; you can have a lot of jobs under different employers in different places that will make up your career. Women have to choose between having a career or a family. For men it is not a choice, they’re expected to have a fully-fledged career and a family.
A Nagging Fear; Loss of Self-Confidence
“Remind yourself that you’re setting a great example as a working mom, so be kind to yourself and enjoy the journey!”
Women who take a sabbatical from work find it difficult to re-join the workforce, even if she has good credentials and experience. Most women find it terrifying to join the workforce after taking a break. They’re constantly reminded that they are not good enough; they are constantly rejected and demotivated. There are not enough institutions out there to help such women in finding their lost confidence. They are afraid of falling down and because they know that no one will be there to pick them up.
Lost and all alone
“Leave loudly. Never apologize for arriving late or leaving early for your little one”
Even if these women are somehow able to re-join the workforce, they have to do everything on their own; take care of the household, take care of the kids and family. They don’t have a supporting partner and family. There is a saying that it takes an entire village to raise a child but a career women is supposed to do everything on her own. She is penalized for having a career, for having a dream. It is not just the household where she faces all these barriers; the organizations also do nothing to help/support women who come back after taking a sabbatical. There was a study done by The Mom Project that showed that women who re-join after having children are paid less then children-less women. So basically these organisations are punishing women for bringing a life in to this world.
A Ray of Hope: Restarting with Returnship Program
“You deserve to be here. You deserve to exist. You deserve to take up space in the world of men.”
Her career foundation is an NGO; that is dedicated to helping women win back their confidence and re-join the workforce after taking a break. It helps women by providing the necessary Learning, Networking and Mentoring resources thorough Returnship and entrepreneurship program. They believe in empowering women by providing them necessary tools for rebuilding themselves. HCF believes that a family needs to support women who want to enter the workforce after a break. They have sessions with family and husband of those women and tell them why their support is important.
Women should be encouraged to have a career and not just a job; she should be encouraged to follow her passion. She is allowed to a take a break from her job and joins the workforce some time later when she thinks she is ready. She should be taught that she can have career even if she decides to take break from her current job; she can learn new skills. She should be reminded that she is valuable no matter how long she was out of the playing field. Her work experience should be treated as an asset; her expertise should be valued and she should be revered for taking a career break and putting the needs of others before her own.
We need to normalize taking a break or skipping a promotion. These breaks are inevitable for women all over the world; they don’t do it for selfish reasons. Her reasons are always pure and for love.
By - Aakaansha Kavidayal - PGDM - Asia Pacific Institude Of Management
Marketing Enthusiast with a penchant for brand building. Worked on multiple academic and industry projects with the intent of generating buzz & conversations around brands. My goal is to work on projects that go above and beyond to help our community and raises the living standard of our society.
#hercareerfoundation #genderbiassociety #genderbiasness #returnship #genderinequality