Smart living moms reclaim their careers

It’s said that economies grow when women are a vital part of the workforce. And now more than ever, women are becoming leaders in their fields. But 25% of moms left their jobs in 2023 to stay at home and raise their children.

Experts fear many will never return to the office. But now, when the time is right, one program based outside of Orlando is helping these moms get back to work in high-paying, high-level jobs.

“I took a career pause for about eight years. I took 13 years off, I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom,” said one mother.

Each of these college-educated, career-focused women stepped away from their full-time jobs to be full-time moms. Each of them wanted to return to the workforce but didn’t know how.

“It’s just when you’ve been out for eight years and you’re like doing play dates and volunteering at the school, you feel like, a little bit like a fraud,” said another mom.

“That confidence gap exists, and then it gets wider and wider and wider the longer that person is out of work, and I remember thinking who would want me?” said a different mother.

Betsy Gardner did get back to work as president and CEO of the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce. It’s here she saw an overwhelming need for high-achieving, reliable employees. She started Relaunch — a program to help stay-at-home moms understand their worth.

And the first lesson she said was, “We call it a career pause because we see women as on this dynamic trajectory,” said a mom.

In fact, moms gain valuable skills while away from the office.

“So, staying home with children is a soft skills acquisition bonanza, right?” Gardner said. “You have to get good at soft skills because you don’t have any other choice. You’re dealing with difficult people all day long. They’re called toddlers, right?” said Gardner.

Soft skills are the number one skill set managers say the younger generations are lacking. Relaunch also helps women to be unapologetic about their choices.

“So that being apologetic-thing is the very thing that we target in this program. We teach them how to take control of the interview,” Gardner said. “The best way to take control of an interview is to start asking the questions.”

The program gives women all the tools they need to relaunch their careers.

“You have all of these skills; you’re just not giving yourself the credit for them. Be confident in yourself and the skillset you have,” said Gardner.