cheryl
Administrator
Staff member
Why can't I list parenting on my resume? - The Guardian
I’ve sharpened a wide range of skills as a parent – patience, adaptability, multitasking. Potential employers should see the value in it
By the time I gave birth to my second daughter, her older sister was just 19 months old. At the time, I did research for a small nonprofit and my income barely covered the childcare I’d need to keep doing it. So, like a lot of mothers, I left my job because it didn’t make financial sense to continue working.
I didn’t have a problem with the decision. Thanks to my background in public policy, I’m well aware of the economic value of parenting. By fostering a safe, nurturing, and stable environment for my children in their infancy, I am helping to mold the intelligent, creative, hard-working adults society needs. In economic terms, I’m helping to create human capital, which accounts for two-thirds of global wealth and is a key driver of growth in our increasingly high-tech, globalized economy.
Despite all this, when I return to the labor force, I’ll have nothing but a gap in my resume to show for it. It’s a problem many more women will grapple with, owing to coronavirus and the need to take time off and care for their kids. An employer may accept parenting as an understandable explanation of that gap, but few would accept it as evidence of my hireability.
I’ve sharpened a wide range of skills as a parent – patience, adaptability, multitasking. Potential employers should see the value in it
By the time I gave birth to my second daughter, her older sister was just 19 months old. At the time, I did research for a small nonprofit and my income barely covered the childcare I’d need to keep doing it. So, like a lot of mothers, I left my job because it didn’t make financial sense to continue working.
I didn’t have a problem with the decision. Thanks to my background in public policy, I’m well aware of the economic value of parenting. By fostering a safe, nurturing, and stable environment for my children in their infancy, I am helping to mold the intelligent, creative, hard-working adults society needs. In economic terms, I’m helping to create human capital, which accounts for two-thirds of global wealth and is a key driver of growth in our increasingly high-tech, globalized economy.
Despite all this, when I return to the labor force, I’ll have nothing but a gap in my resume to show for it. It’s a problem many more women will grapple with, owing to coronavirus and the need to take time off and care for their kids. An employer may accept parenting as an understandable explanation of that gap, but few would accept it as evidence of my hireability.