Organisations throughout the globe are grappling with expertise shortages, rising hiring prices and the stress to construct resilient, future-ready workforces. But some of the skilled and succesful expertise swimming pools stays constantly ignored: girls returning to work after a profession break.
Within the UAE, profession breaks are sometimes resulting from life transitions resembling relocation and motherhood – realities of a extremely cell, globally related society reasonably than a scarcity of ambition, functionality or function amongst girls. Whereas these returners are sometimes perceived as a danger, the proof reveals they’re an untapped useful resource.
A 2024 PwC Center East report discovered that half of ladies within the MENA area – with greater than two-thirds at extra senior ranges – have taken a profession break, and that harnessing the total potential of this expertise pool might contribute a complete of as much as US$385 billion to GDP in 9 MENA economies.
The report reinforces that ladies returning to work don’t should be “developed” from scratch, but are continuously screened out as a result of their CVs don’t observe linear patterns. These girls are educated, expert and skilled, and when institutional data, hiring and onboarding prices are factored in, it turns into clear that ignoring this pool of pros is each unproductive and economically inefficient.
There’s a actual alternative for change, beginning with hiring behaviour by way of to office insurance policies and tradition.
Girls face quite a lot of limitations when navigating their return to work. On the search stage, repeated rejection, lack of suggestions and the implicit message {that a} profession break is a weak spot can considerably affect confidence. On a sensible stage, many positions are nonetheless constructed round rigid workflows and ‘always-on’ cultures which are essentially incompatible with the realities of caregiving.
Returners are sometimes additionally screened out resulting from a scarcity of latest UAE or regional expertise, making a catch-22: native expertise is required to be employed, but hiring is required to realize native expertise.
That is additional difficult by the emergence of AI and digital instruments, with girls aware of how methods of working have modified lately. The problem is never an incapacity to be taught, however restricted entry to alternatives to refresh expertise or reveal functionality in actual office settings.
Moderately than reflecting a scarcity of expertise or ambition, these limitations level to programs and assumptions that don’t match immediately’s realities.
Returnships – skilled internships for skilled employees re-entering the workforce after important profession breaks – have performed an vital position in reopening doorways. For a lot of girls, they supply precisely what is required: a structured atmosphere to refresh expertise, rebuild confidence, acquire latest expertise and reconnect with skilled networks.
These programmes are a win-win: in keeping with PwC, returnships profit employers by attracting motivated and mature expertise with distinctive views, complemented by 83 per cent of ladies who report that these programmes affect their determination to re-enter the workforce.
Nonetheless, many such initiatives are designed as short-term placements or entry-level roles, usually with modest compensation and no assured long-term development. For girls returning to work later in life, this mannequin shouldn’t be at all times economically viable, provided that prices of dwelling and childcare usually exceed returnship remuneration.
This underscores the necessity for a number of re-entry choices that mirror the variety of ladies’s circumstances and expertise ranges because the return-to-work dialog matures and evolves –recognising seniority, enabling direct hiring alternatives and maximising stability.
Past programmes, there may be the elemental situation of a mindset that prioritises continuity over functionality, the place uninterrupted careers are rewarded and profession breaks are seen with warning. In follow, girls re-joining the workforce deliver a mix of precious expertise and transferable expertise.
Navigating complexity, uncertainty and alter exterior knowledgeable hierarchy has strengthened their judgement, adaptability, stakeholder administration and problem-solving capabilities. As a consequence, these girls usually problem established assumptions and provide views formed by lived expertise – significant qualities in workplaces searching for innovation and resilience.
The following section of progress should reframe how profession breaks are understood and valued, with recruitment processes assessing functionality reasonably than chronology, and office insurance policies reflecting the realities of recent life.
At Expo Metropolis Dubai, we consider that empowering girls of their skilled journeys is greater than social fairness – it’s a aggressive benefit. As the brand new centre of Dubai’s future and a key contributor to the Dubai Financial Agenda (D33), we’re dedicated to maximising our social, environmental and financial affect by way of innovation and collaboration.
Reflecting this dedication and driving efforts round range, inclusion and alternative, the Girls’s Pavilion two-phase Return to Work programme at Expo Metropolis permits girls to beat re-entry challenges and convey their expertise again into the financial system. The programme consists of focused upskilling in digital fluency, interview preparation, networking and extra – and is one in every of a number of programmes to champion girls and ladies, in any respect phases of life.
As Expo Metropolis continues to evolve, we all know that we’re a single thread in a a lot bigger, ever-changing tapestry. We’re proud to assist drive a extra resilient, revolutionary and balanced society and financial system – powered by the total breadth of its expertise – and welcome collaboration with others who share our mission.
