Women’s Career 2.0

The article, New pathways to women’s workforce reintegration by Pooja Sharma Goyal, discusses the need for organisations to find new ways to reintegrate women aged 45 and above into the workforce. It notes that women's careers often stall during the prime years for building caregiving duties, such as raising children and caring for aging parents. A study by the recruitment firm Applied found that women were more likely than men to take a career break due to these caregiving responsibilities.

According to a McKinsey and Company study, 43% of highly qualified women leave their careers temporarily at some point. This creates a problem, as women's "careers are thus, less linear and more 'curved', but once their caregiving priorities are fulfilled, they are raring to join back the workforce." The article suggests that if a woman were to re-enter the workforce at age 45, she still has about 25-30 years to reach leadership positions.

To address this challenge, the article suggests that organisations need to tap into the demographic of women aged 45 and above by innovating solutions to accommodate them. This could help create a "competent, motivated talent pool" that organisations can leverage. Some key recommendations include:

Redesigning career paths and models to enable non-linear career growth, rather than the traditional "linear" progression.
Providing role models, mentors, and targeted training to support women's unique experiences and help them re-enter the workforce.
Addressing issues around pay parity and confidence that can lead to significant attrition when women return to work.
Recognising the economic and societal benefits of retaining experienced women's skills and expertise, rather than losing them.

New Pathways to Women's Workforce reintegration by Pooja Sharama Goyal. In: Deccan Herald, October 2024.

The article emphasises that by tapping into this demographic and implementing solutions to reintegrate them, organisations can create a more diverse, skilled, and adaptable workforce that benefits both the company and the economy as a whole.

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