Women face harsh judgment about gaps on their CV.
Women are only slightly more likely to have a gap on their CV than men, and yet they face the harshest judgment for it, says new research.
The reasons for a career gap – defined as time away from work for six months or more – vary, from childcare and health issues to travel. But because women are more likely than men to take time off due to childcare (38% of women who’d taken a career break of six months or more cited childcare as the reason, compared to just 11% of men), we’re facing judgment and questions about our parenthood plans in interviews, despite this being against the law.
Applied’s survey of 2,000 people found that nearly one in five women (18%) have been asked whether they have children or if they plan to have children in the future during the recruitment process. Among senior managers, this number rose to two in five (40%).
That these questions are still being asked suggests a lingering stigma attached to women taking time away from work for childcare reasons, but also judgment about career gaps as a whole. That’s something we should question – why should needing to take a momentary break from work automatically be seen as an issue?
The research found that one in three Brits has taken a career break, and that of these people, 53% would rather not tell prospective employers about their time away. That’s despite the finding that many found their career gap to be beneficial. 45% of the women surveyed said they had gained new or transferable skills, or enhanced their existing skill set, during their break.
Most common reasons for women’s career gaps
- Childcare (38%)
- Mental or physical health (18%)
- Caring for a relative or friend (11%)
- Redundancy (8%)
- Higher or further education (6%)
- Other (8%)
- Travel (5%)
- Setting up a business (3%)
- To apply for other roles (3%)
“Nearly one in five women have been asked whether they have (or plan to have) children during a recruitment process: this number is far too high,” says Khyati Sundaram, CEO at Applied. “It shows how outdated and gendered attitudes towards women’s caregiving responsibilities continue to act as barriers for women in the workplace – and this cannot continue. This inappropriate line of questioning has no place in ethical hiring processes, where skills – and not somebody’s future family plans – should be the sole measure of whether somebody is suitable for a role.
“This International Women’s Day, to combat antiquated misconceptions surrounding career breaks and caregiving in the workplace, we’re calling on employers to embrace equity by adopting anonymous skills-based hiring models to remove unconscious bias from recruitment and ensure candidates with career gaps can showcase their skills – no matter where, how or when they gained them.”
How to re-enter the workplace after a career gap
Sundaram shared some tips for rejoining the workplace after some time away.
Identify the skills you gained in your break
Emphasise the benefits of your career gap to break down the outdated idea that breaks are a bad thing.
“Whether you’ve taken time out to have a family, travel the world or do something else entirely, there’s no doubt that you’ll have picked up valuable transferable skills along the way,” says Sundaram. “While you should not be expected to explain or justify your career gap to potential employers, it’s worth thinking about the skills you’ve gained (particularly those that are relevant to the role you’re applying to) so that you’re ready to demonstrate and discuss these skills if called upon during your application or interview.”
Refresh your knowledge of the sector
Sundaram recommends: “Whether you’re looking to enter into a new sector or find a job in an industry you’ve had experience in before, it’s a good idea to brush up on the latest news, views, acronyms and policies to ensure your skills and knowledge are up to date. You may wish to reconnect with former colleagues or connections in your network who are currently working in the industry or sign up for a short skills refresher course or relevant newsletter.”
Seek out employers that champion skills-based hiring
“The skills you gain during a career break could be the very things that set you apart from the other candidates,” explains Sundaram. “And the best way to showcase those skills? Seek out employers that use a skills-based recruitment process.
“Skills-based hiring uses ‘work sample’ tests (where candidates are asked questions based on role-relevant scenarios) to find the candidate with the necessary skills for the job. Some employers who implement skills-based hiring will do away with CVs altogether and only test for role-relevant skills, which means they will not know about any ‘gaps’ on your CV, so any unconscious bias an employer may hold about career gaps cannot cloud decision-making.
“For women seeking senior positions, this style of hiring is particularly beneficial, with research revealing that skills-based hiring increases the number of women hired into senior roles by 68% compared with the global average.”
Consider a returner programme
You’ll find that some workplaces have created systems specifically to help those who’ve taken time away slide easily back into the flow of work. Take advantage of these.
“A ‘returner programme’ involves creating roles specifically for career returners,” Sundaram notes. “Some employers will do this if they’re specifically looking to harness the skills and experiences of candidates with career breaks.
“Often, they’ll offer support and mentoring alongside the role to help returners successfully transition back into work. To find out more about finding an employer that offers a returner programme, I’d recommend checking out Women Returners, who have lots of useful information on their website.”
Images: Getty
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