Career Breaks, Not Career Setbacks: Redesigning Return-to-Work for Equity
“Career break” shouldn’t mean “career setback".
But for too many women, that’s still the reality.
This is the second of five insights from the Australian Institute of Family Studies research on how caring responsibilities shape workforce participation—and what that means for closing the gender pay gap.
The data tells a clear story:
👶 Only 60% of partnered mothers with a child under 1 are employed
👩👧 Just 29% of single mothers are employed in that same window
And the longer it takes to return, the steeper the climb back up.
By mid-career, the gender pay gap can hit 35%—with early caregiving years doing most of the damage.
This isn’t about women “opting out.”
It’s about systems that push them out—and don’t help them return.
Here’s What Needs to Change:
🔹 Stop calling it ‘flexible’ if it means ‘forgotten.’
Carers need real pathways—not just part-time roles that go nowhere.
🔹 Re-entry isn’t onboarding.
It’s restoration. It’s rebuilding confidence, reconnecting networks, and reviving ambition.
🔹 Leadership visibility matters.
If no one senior has returned from leave and advanced, the signal is clear:
You can pause your career—but don’t expect to progress.
The Strategic Playbook for Leaders:
✅ Before Leave: Set expectations, plan learning links, and keep the door open
✅ During Leave: Offer opt-in updates and invite (not obligate) connection
✅ On Return: Phase hours, assign a mentor, and reboard with purpose
✅ Long-Term: Audit progression. Monitor retention. Invest in mid-career women
📘 In Closing the Gender Pay Gap, I call this the career re-entry inflection point—and it’s one of the most underutilised levers for change.
If we get this right, we don’t just help women return—we build stronger, more equitable leadership pipelines.
📩 Message me if you’d like a copy of the whitepaper.
What would a better return-to-work experience look like in your organisation?
A former Board Member, CPO, and 2022 HR Leader of the Year, Anoop creates the space for C-suite leaders to turn complexity into clarity and strategy into action.