Anyone who has ever raised kids knows that motherhood is work, so why are women so often compelled to gloss over their hiatuses from the traditional workforce after they've had kids? After all, moms should be able to return to their jobs or seek new ones with pride, so one creative agency just launched a bold tool to help them do it. Mother New York developed the ingenious "The Pregnancy Pause" to fill the "gaps" in their résumés that all too often disadvantage them in the job market. Complete with a sample résumé and a phone number for the returning moms to use as a reference, the project aims to snuff out workplace taboos around maternity leave and facilitate open conversations between prospective employees and employers.
Mother New York chief creative officer Corinna Falusi explained the rationale behind The Pregnancy Pause in a statement, according to Adweek:
New mothers in the U.S. often feel forced to quit their jobs due to a lack of adequate maternity leave policies, which leaves them penalized for the subsequent gaps in their resumes. We wanted to give working mothers in the U.S. a simple tool, and make it easier for them to own maternity leave as the full-time job it truly is.
To get started, moms who are back in the job market can update their LinkedIn "Experience" sections to include the title of "Mom" at "The Pregnancy Pause." And Mother New York has some suggestions for what to add under "Description." There's the pretty straightforward "Designer of human life" as well as "Hands-on experience in development." The company may not be real, but the skills gained from bringing another human into the world sure are.
On its website, The Pregnancy Pause also provides a toolkit for moms returning to the workforce. This includes information such as the fact that "mothers who explain these gaps clearly are less likely to be passed over for opportunities," as well as a sample résumé into which the moms can plug their own experience. The Pregnancy Pause, of course, is included, as is a reference number for employers to call. And when they do call (646) 998-6767, prospective employers will hear this prerecorded message, according Campaign US:
Hello, you have reached The Pregnancy Pause. You must be calling about a candidate's resume that has mentioned her time spent here. While here, she spent innumerable hours raising a child, which has surely offered her invaluable experience as a prospective employee. Visit our website ThePregnancyPause.org to learn more, and remember, maternity leave is a full-time job.
This, simply put, is freakin' awesome, and a valuable step toward our society's valuing motherhood as it should be valued. It also has the potential to make it easier for moms to reenter the workforce, which is great for them, their families, the companies they'll work for, and the country and its economy at large.
