When talking about returning to work after a career break the conversation quickly turns to the difficulties and barriers. For example, a recent study cited in the Harvard Business Review showed that stay-at-home mums are half as likely to get a job interview as women who had been laid off. My own opinion piece which was published in China Daily back in December 2017 had the headline: Women returning to work in Hong Kong face an uphill battle.

The danger of this discourse is that it can serve to perpetuate and reinforce women’s beliefs that a career break equals the end of their career: regardless of all they may have achieved prior to taking a break or the circumstances of the break coming about.

In the Women’s Foundation HK 2016 'Best Practice Guide to Return-to-work Programs', the lack of role models and success stories was highlighted as one of the top five barriers women face when returning to work.

The moment I read the above I started thinking of how I could support women to overcome this barrier. I have been gathering stories of women successfully returning to work which I can share with other women. Whilst initially I started looking for examples of women who returned to high-flying corporate careers, I soon realized the limitations of this approach. By only focusing on main corporate sectors here in Hong Kong - services, finance and insurance - I would be limiting myself to sectors that employ merely 20% of the Hong Kong labour force and I would also be applying a very narrow definition of what a ‘successful’ career is.

Once I widened my focus to include stories of all those who returned to work after a career break, I realized that I could find examples all around me: from my mother who returned to work at age 58 to the Director of a Charity who was able to make a career transition from finance to general operations after broadening her skillset by volunteering for a couple of years. I also discovered that one of the most senior Organisational Development Consultants I worked with in the past had been a trailing spouse for over two decades and that her career included inevitable gaps lasting years when her spouse had been placed in countries where it was almost impossible for her to find paid work.

From these women’s stories, I have learned the importance that their relationships played in them returning to work. Whilst their decision to return to work was not always supported by those closest to them, most of them found about job opportunities from acquaintances or former colleagues who they had kept in touch with. The bridges created by these relationships enabled them to by-pass the often-cited barriers and obstacles of recruitment agencies or hiring managers who are wary of gaps on CVs. 

It was clear that these women had nurtured existing relationships, as well as sought out new ones. Indeed, a recurring theme was the importance these women placed on ongoing personal and professional development.

Overall, these stories taught me that whilst the obstacles are real there are many ways in which women find the resources to overcome them.

These themes were discussed at the Re-Engage with your Career workshop in Hong Kong. Event details here or at this link.

Originally posted on FLEXImums, on 3 April, 2018