Monday 25^th September marks the beginning of Return To Work Week (RTWW). Established by workingmums.co.uk, it is all about supporting women returning to the workplace following a career break to raise a family. Be that a break of a few months or many years, the week will be packed full of practical guidance to help women find jobs that not only fit their circumstances but also their passions and skills.

RTWW inspired me to reflect on my own return to work following the birth of my daughter. Relocation to another country during my maternity leave meant that I left my previous position and so found myself a year and a half later, entering the jobs market with a significant gap in my employment history and new requirements around working hours to fit with childcare arrangements.

With a wealth of experience and proven track record of continuous development throughout my career, I perhaps naively thought I would gain relatively easy passage back into the world of work.

I met with several recruiters, all were impressed with my employment history, told me I was articulate, presented wonderfully and would be ‘exactly’ the type of candidate their clients were looking for. They shared various roles with me from a wide range of prospective employers, all with competitive compensation packages, which, with the cost of childcare as it was and still is, was an enormous relief.

Then came the inevitable conversation around working hours. I arranged childcare that would enable me to work full–time hours between 9:00 – 17:00. These are standard office working hours, however this request was a revelation to the recruiters.

With this very normal request the employer pool suddenly dwindled, the compensation packages diminished, and the possibility of a permanent role disappeared entirely. With that one basic requirement to work contracted hours only, my worth as a candidate was gone, all experience and skills rendered meaningless.  I considered myself lucky to secure a role at Phoenix, on those terms, but left feeling that surely this shouldn’t have to be an exception.

Caught in a gap

Phoenix Insights research ‘Caught in a Gap’ highlighted how the gender pay gap disadvantages women’s future finances. It also found this disparity is made worse by typical events that happen throughout a woman’s life, maternity leave being just one of them. The recent Careers After Babies report conducted by That Works For Me highlighted some alarming statistics. The report shows that less than a quarter (24%) of women go back to full-time work after having children. It also found there was a 32% reduction in women in managerial roles after starting a family, with a corresponding 44% increase of women in admin roles, with many stating that it is easier to find flexible work opportunities at a junior level. This chimes with my own experience, and that of so many others.  It is not only maternity leave itself negatively impacting women’s financial futures, but also the subsequent aftereffects it has on diversity of roles available and career trajectory.

Supporting returners at all life stages

This is why support for women returning to work following having children, such as RTWW, is so important and it is fantastic to see a swell of activity in this space. However, action to remove the ‘Career Break Penalty’ is needed in a broader context.

Changing demographics will increase the diversity of reasons for career breaks and demand. Caring responsibilities & mental health can affect both men and women at any stage of life.  More work is needed to understand the ramifications of not supporting better return to work throughout our working lives and to drive action on the policies that can improve this.  Good quality, fulfilling jobs matter to people of all ages.  

The power of good work to benefit all

Ensuring people remain in good work later in life can be hugely beneficial for an individual’s finances and wellbeing, and with labour shortages still a major issue in our economy, it is also a key element to boosting the UK’s post-pandemic productivity and economic growth for the years ahead.

Phoenix Insights are on a mission to inspire organisations and individuals to reimagine working lives. So whilst I remain grateful for the return to work that Phoenix Group enabled me to have, I increasingly see this is not just a recruitment issue but appreciate the importance of a wider range of corporate policies and depth of support within them. Phoenix Group’s family leave policy includes the option of a phased return to work, fully paid but on reduced hours building back up to 100% working hours over two months as well as generous and thoughtful allowances and policies from carers leave to career breaks. 

And I’m proud of our work to drive change externally, to have helped instigate the Careers can change campaign helping people in midlife think about and make career changes and to be raising awareness of the issues people face working in later life through our support for National Older Workers Week in November.  Progress is being made, but there are many more steps to this journey.