How mums can make a comeback in their career after having kids

It is so hard to go back to work after having a baby, some mums lament. Other mums find the struggle leans more towards having a work-life balance. Mums who are lucky enough to have help once they go back to work, might instead find themselves struggling to climb the corporate ladder due to the “gap” in their career for when they took time off to have a baby. 

But women should not have to let their careers suffer to raise their family. In fact, wouldn’t it be wonderful if women were given equal opportunity at work and raise a family? 

Source: Pixabay

Enter work-from-home mums. Not many exist because not many companies allow the option to work from home. This rare breed of women actually get to pursue their careers while spending time with the family. 

But how far can they actually progress in their career by working from home? And how do you get from reading about these women to actually becoming one of them?

According to Hopscotch.work, a women’s careers platform, this is much closer to becoming a reality for mums in Asia, now more than ever. 

You’re not alone in this struggle. 98% of Asian women want “flexible work” options if it was made available to them. Traditional workplaces still dictate that staff must go to the office everyday from 9am-6pm. It is no surprise that women are dissatisfied with this. 

Furthermore, those who are allowed to work from home, never get really far in their careers. This is where Hopscotch.work hopes to bridge the gap.

Source: Hopscotch.work

Hopscotch.work is a platform with over 60,000 women in its network. The platform sources flexible, part-time and permanent jobs from all industries for women to browse through. 

“We know from experience how effective our actions have been for women in the workforce and it’s very clear that this is just what the APAC region needs right now,” says Helen McGuire, co-founder and managing director of Hopscotch.work.

While it is similar to many other job sites out there, the platform advocates more work-from-home positions. And it is free for women to use!

First, you have to build a profile. Then you can browse through jobs, join events and even apply for roles and placements through the platform.

It is also a platform that aims to help women progress in their careers. By collaborating with huge companies such as Nestle, Louis Vuitton, Facebook, Kantar, The British high Commission, Motion, Edelman, Publicis and many more multi-national companies, Hopscotch.work hopes to unite women with suitable work after a career break or maternity leave.

Its Career Comeback programmes help those who have been out of the workplace for six months or more. The programme allows women to take part in paid and active placements for three to six months with roles on offer across Creative, Finance, Events, Consulting and more.

Source: Pixabay

The Career Comeback programme is already underway and both employers and employees are reaping the benefits. 

Jenny Durgan, from Facebook, says that the Facebook Creative Shop is launching a Career Comeback in partnership with Hopscotch in both Dubai and Singapore to help women get jobs in the advertising industry after being out of work.

“Whether they are mums or have just taken some time off, the programme will provide hands-on training, mentorship and tools for how to best create creative campaigns for our platform,” Durgan says.

Emily Leahy, Kantar’s Head of Recruitment Operations, commented: “We want people at Kantar to flourish professionally as well as personally, and we see Hopscotch’s Career Comebacks programme as a genuine integration of these two areas. The opportunity to provide support to a woman in the sometimes-daunting re-entry to the workplace resonates with many employees at Kantar.”

If given the chances, mummies, would you work from home?

Read also: From Mum to Mumpreneur