Women are an integral part of the corporate world. They are patient, excellent motivators, brilliant leaders as well as managers. However, due to factors such as marriage, maternity and even health conditions, they often have to leave their position at some point in time with an uncertainty of resuming back. More often than not, even if they have relevant experience, and have graduated from top universities – be it in courses such as BBA, BCA, MCA, MBA and so on – women find it difficult to get back to the corporate world.

Most importantly, the industry surely misses their contribution. In an endeavour to bring the women back, numerous firms across the world have started investing in what they call ‘Returnee Programs.’ This call of duty program targets the ex-female employees of the organization who had to quit because of personal reasons.

Here’s what some renowned organisations and businesses are doing under the ‘restart strategy for women.’

The B.I.G way of Philips

Philips launched ‘Back in the Game’ or ‘B.I.G’ in the year 2013. The platform was designed to address the challenges and hurdles faced by the ex-female workers of Philips looking at returning to work. As a solution, B.I.G offered women mentorship as well as an environment of flexibility. As a result, a large number of ex-female employees of Philips resumed their careers with the company.

IBM Brought Them Back with ‘Bring Her Back’

To bring back women to work, IBM launched a program called ‘Bring Her Back.’ Started in the global delivery business unit of the organization, the program offered part-time employment to the ex-women workers of IBM. The program was a great success, and it proved to be one of the most effective channels to bring back women professionals who were on a career break.

Career 2.0 of Genpact

Genpact launched a program to bring back their women employees who were on a career break due to motherhood and branded it with the epigraph – Career 2.0. Under this initiative of the firm, female employees were requested to return to work, and they could choose shift timings as per their comfort and convenience.

gCareer by Google

Launched by the internet giant, Google, gCareer is a program for skilled and qualified women who have taken a career break for a year or longer. The program aims at bringing these women back in the organization. It is a platform for women who are willing to step into the dynamic digital space environment of Google’s advertising team and reignite their career.

Microsoft On-boarded with Springboard

A unique program designed by Microsoft, Springboard made it extremely easy for women on a sabbatical to get back at work. The program helped the women to get their careers back on track by offering them the flexibility to choose the project, duration to complete it and work hours, giving full flexibility and control to women and making as easy as possible for them to readjust their schedules around work and life.

Returnee Programs: A Career Call to Women

These fantastic initiatives have been enablers in increasing female participation in the corporate world. Apart from making the work environment more conducive, these programs are also a formal pathway to employment for skilled, qualified and talented females choosing to restart their career again after fulfilling their personal responsibilities. Companies have also gone a step further and helped women in their workforce pursue distance education courses. Especially to women who were not able to complete their education due to various reasons, but aspire to learn and grow in their career.

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