Giving Compass’ Take:
• Asha Vade reports that returnships are helping parents enter back into the workforce by offering training programs and skill-building to reacquaint them with what they’ve missed.
• How can philanthropists partner with businesses to make workforce re-entry programs more prolific? Can businesses start to provide training directly?
• This video series follows top women in technology jobs and highlights their growing presence in tech.
I had made the decision to leave my technical project manager position in order to better support my family. I knew I didn’t want to lose the best years with my child, who now needed me to be present in the moment, to be engaged, to have energy. But when I made the difficult decision to take a break, I never imagined that my career wouldn’t be waiting for me when I was ready to return.
As I hit the pause button on my professional life, I planned to return to work when the time was right. But once I started my job hunt, I realized I had a harder road ahead of me.
Many working parents face re-entry issues, but the challenge can be more pronounced in the tech industry. According to research by AnitaB.org and the Michelle R. Clayman Institute, “the mid-level is perhaps the most critical juncture for women on the technical career ladder because it is here that a complex set of gender barriers converge.”
The pipeline for women in technology to senior-level roles has a leak. Many companies are taking an innovative approach to supporting women in the workplace, especially women in the technology industry, through a new kind of initiative: “returnships.”
Returnships are a type of internship program that provides a way for organizations to recruit and on-board mid-career men and women who have taken a break in their careers and want to re-enter the workforce. The nice part of returnships? You’re not starting at the bottom of your career all over again; instead, your skills and past experience are recognized as a part of the program for you to build from.
Read the full article about returnships by Asha Vade at Mashable.
Women and Girls is a complex topic, and others found these selections from the Impact Giving archive from Giving Compass to be good resources.
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