{"id":196661,"date":"2021-08-02T11:11:07","date_gmt":"2021-08-02T05:41:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jigsawacademy.com\/?p=196661"},"modified":"2022-04-04T12:50:37","modified_gmt":"2022-04-04T07:20:37","slug":"how-to-make-a-successful-comeback-after-a-career-break","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jigsawacademy.com\/blogs\/expert-speak\/how-to-make-a-successful-comeback-after-a-career-break\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Make A Successful Comeback After A Career Break"},"content":{"rendered":"

At a recent training for fresher hire as part of an MNC\u2019s analytics training program, my colleague Dr. Chetana highlighted that only 10% of the hires were women. TrustRadius reported that in 2021, 72% of women in tech are outnumbered by men in business meetings by at least a 2:1 ratio.\u00a0Women are less than 1\/3rd of the employees in many tech companies. <\/span>As per the latest data by catalyst,<\/span><\/a> women are only 5.8% of the CEO pool in the S&P 500 companies in the US!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"career<\/p>\n

Women constitute a low percentage of student intake in most of our premier engineering colleges. A quick check of the top 10 engineering colleges in India based on <\/span>NIRF ranking<\/span><\/a> shows a similar low female participation.<\/span><\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Rank<\/span><\/td>\nEngineering College<\/span><\/td>\nStudent Strength in 4-year UG Program<\/span><\/td>\nNo. of Female Students<\/span><\/td>\n% of Female Students<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1<\/span><\/td>\nIndian Institute of Technology Madras\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 1,814\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 272\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n15.0%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/span><\/td>\nIndian Institute of Technology Delhi\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 2,856\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 345\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n12.1%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3<\/span><\/td>\nIndian Institute of Technology Bombay\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 2,795\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 307\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n11.0%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4<\/span><\/td>\nIndian Institute of Technology Kanpur\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 3,184\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 303\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n9.5%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/span><\/td>\nIndian Institute of Technology Kharagpur\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 2,251\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 224\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n10.0%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6<\/span><\/td>\nIndian Institute of Technology Roorkee\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 3,123\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 321\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n10.3%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
7<\/span><\/td>\nIndian Institute of Technology Guwahati\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 2,470\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 267\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n10.8%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
8<\/span><\/td>\nIndian Institute of Technology
\nHyderabad\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n		\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 969\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 186\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n19.2%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9<\/span><\/td>\nNational Institute of Technology Tiruchirappalli\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 2,719\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 662\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n24.3%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10<\/span><\/td>\nIndian Institute of Technology Indore<\/span><\/td>\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 798\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 88\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n11.0%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nTop 5 Engineering colleges as per NIRF<\/span><\/td>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 12,900\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 1,451\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n11.2%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nTop 10 Engineering colleges as per NIRF<\/span><\/td>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 22,979\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 2,975\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n12.9%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Data Source: NIRF<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Not that it was always the case! Women were the pioneers in computing and made significant contributions to the field. History is written by the winners, or, in this case, predominantly males, and much of this contribution was left unattributed for decades. <\/span>In an earlier article<\/span><\/a>, I had written about why it\u2019s critical to have more diversity in AI. Lower female participation in AI has unintended negative consequences to making the future more biased.<\/span><\/p>\n

India has among the lowest female workforce participation in the world! According to World Bank data, a mere 20.79% of the workforce (for ages 15+) in India is female, compares to 47.29% worldwide. Alarmingly, this percentage has been falling since 2005, and <\/span>initial reports<\/span><\/a> by agencies including Oxfam and <\/span>TrustRadius<\/span><\/a> suggest the COVID-19 pandemic has further negatively impacted this trend in India.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Image source: World Bank<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Besides low participation, women also struggle with salary disparity, often being paid 20% lower for equivalent work. This is compounded by the unequal workload distribution at home as well as the role as the primary caregiver. The challenges are more difficult for women looking to return from a career break \u2013 for multiple reasons, including marriage, maternity, spouse travel to a forging country where they did not have a work visa, taking care of elderly family members.<\/span><\/p>\n

Over the last few months, as hiring has resumed post-COVID, it has been heartening to see many companies ask us for focused hiring of women to improve the demographic mix of employees. We think it\u2019s a step in the right direction to have a more balanced workforce.<\/span><\/p>\n

Returning to work has been a difficult transition for many. And, experiences with many of our female students had reinforced the message that it is unlikely to be smooth. Here are a few things that can help make the process less difficult:<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Ask your network for help<\/b><\/h2>\n

Many people make the process of getting back to work personal and do not involve the vast networks that know and trust them. Reach out and make it known you are back in the job market. The kindness of strangers and your network often springs a pleasant surprise!<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Don\u2019t just apply to jobs; Converse with stakeholders\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

Use professional networks like LinkedIn not just to apply to jobs but to connect with people in the prospective company. Understand the work culture, check your fit and possibly even get a job referral. Reaching out to hiring managers and recruitment personnel in your target companies helps bring you to their attention.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Apply at the companies that have getting back to work webpages<\/b><\/h2>\n

Many companies have specific web pages for women returning to work. I have listed out some of them to help you get an idea.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n