Upskilling opportunities like Upgrad and Coursera make it easier for women to come back to the workforce.
According to a report by Talent platform Foundit, (formerly Monster APAC and ME), Bengaluru City has seen the highest increase of about 35 percent of women coming back to jobs after career breaks.
A research paper titled ‘Working Women: Career Breaks and Re-entry in a Fast-changing Business Environment’ written by Rajeshwari Gwal, published by ResearchGate, says that career breaks in women include maternity, family engagements, pursuing higher education, marriage, etc.
According to Padma, a software developer at Wipro, “I took a break for three months because I was unhappy with my project and had other family engagements. A company offered to pay me less than what I used to make before, and they negotiated to pay me what I used to. I rejected the job, to look for something that fits.
With diversity hiring, the data as reported by Deccan Herald shows that women are seen getting jobs in the roles of software developers standing at about 33 percent, with Human Resources (HR) and Administration roles at 18 percent, and Operations and Accounts at 12 percent, all following close behind.
According to Keka HR, an HR organization, “Diversity hiring is the process of hiring regardless of prejudice on identity, sexual orientation, race, gender, etc.”
According to Pratishtha, Accounts Manager at Collabera Digital, an Information Technology (IT) company, “The industry has become very aware of women who take a break consciously. There are a lot of opportunities that have come now that are offering a flexible work-from-home and hybrid model, which makes it easier for women with family engagements to come and be part of the workforce again.”
According to Pratishtha, “Upskilling opportunities like Upgrad and Coursera make it convenient for women to return to the workforce. There are many ways one can learn and re-learn different skills.”
Experts say that women are being rehired after maternity and other career breaks due to their pre-existing experience in the workforce.
According to Richa Pandey from Recruitment and Human Resources, Australia New Zealand Bank (ANZ), “Many companies are recognizing the value of experienced professionals who may have taken a break from their careers for caregiving responsibilities. Re-hiring women who have taken career breaks, not only taps into a pool of skilled and experienced talent but also contributes to greater gender diversity. In financial sectors, we have seen 49 percent of women diversity rehiring.”
Women have many opportunities and benefits to enter back into the fast-changing workforce. Despite the national trend of decreased hiring, it is women who are taking up positions of leadership, such as managers, administrators, and recruiters.
