You’ve heard about them on TV. You’ve read about them in the news. They’re returnships, and they’re here to stay. Returnships offer a path back into the paid workforce for those on career breaks and are becoming more popular with employers and returners alike – and with good reason. Here are five reasons why returnships are great for society.
1. Returnships promote diversity in the workplace and begin to address the gender gap.
Caregiving responsibilities disproportionately impact women’s careers. In fact, the number of women who are out of the workforce for caregiving responsibilities is 12 times greater than the number of men. The interruption of women’s careers leads to “down-stream” impacts on both the gender pay gap and the number of women represented at senior and leadership levels. Returnships aim to counter this by helping caregivers get back into the workforce without having to start at the bottom again.
2. Hiring programs have a direct impact on company culture.
Returnship programs generally include an aspect of support during the on-ramp period. As a result, returners can feel confident that they are coming into supportive environments, and current employees have the opportunity to act as buddies and mentors. As a result, returnships promote both professional careers and personal lives. As these programs spread, so do supportive cultures, and that’s good news for everyone.
3. Most companies that offer returnships also have flexible work policies.
Although the definition of “flexible” varies widely between companies, most employers with returnship programs allow people to be fully present for loved ones (and themselves) while also having career ambition. Returnships are helping make flexible work normal.
4. Returnships place a value on experience gained through unpaid work.
Just because people aren’t earning a paycheck for their caregiving responsibilities doesn’t mean they aren’t working. In fact, we know that caregiving requires some pretty impressive skills like prioritization, problem-solving, and negotiation. Returnships are helping employers experience the corporate value of those skills. As recruiters and hiring managers see the transferable skills that returners bring first hand, they are helping create lasting change in how their companies think about unpaid experience in the hiring process.
5. The availability of re-entry pathways reduces stigma and allows a focus on family.
Whether someone chose to take a career break or needed to due to their situation, the decision is usually stressful. Luckily, the growth of returnships is making it easier – and less scary – for people to do what’s needed for their loved ones, knowing that new pathways back to their careers are being created all the time.
For those of you looking to return to work, check out our Returnship Matcher – a searchable database of all US-based returnship programs.
For those of you working at a company that doesn’t yet have a returnship program, we encourage you to use Path Forward’s free Returnship Builder tool – or share the tool with your HR team – to start to build your program today!