Family responsibilities, motherhood major drivers of women’s career breaks: BRAC survey

Professional women in Bangladesh often face interruptions in their careers, either voluntarily or involuntarily. Around 75 percent of them leave the workforce mainly due to family responsibilities and motherhood, according to an applicants’ survey conducted by BRAC.

BRAC’s Chief People and Culture Officer Moutushi Kabir shared the findings at a media briefing yesterday at BRAC Centre Inn in Dhaka’s Mohakhali.

The information was taken from data provided by 1200 applicants, who applied for the BRAC’s Bridge Returnship programme.

BRAC has relaunched the programme to support professional women returning to the workforce following a break.

This year, from over 1,200 applicants, 24 women were selected after several rounds of screening to work with different BRAC programmes for six months.

The data found that 38.8 percent of women who had taken career breaks cited family responsibilities and 36 percent maternity as the main reasons for leaving their jobs.

Other reasons included personal causes (18.8 percent), higher education (14.4 percent), unfavourable workplace environments (8.5 percent), and social pressure (4.7 percent).

The event was organised ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8, with speakers expressing hope that initiatives supporting women’s return to work would help build a more inclusive and women-friendly society.

Women seeking to return to work cited career advancement (76.5 percent) as their main motivation, followed by building a personal identity (62.2 percent), boosting self-confidence (57.7 percent), financial independence (56.5 percent), and contributing to family well-being (42.7 percent).

The data also showed that 6.6 percent of applicants had career breaks of more than six years, while the largest group -- 67.9 percent -- had breaks of one to two years.

Meanwhile, 28.6 percent had more than seven years of professional experience, while 58 percent had between three and five years.

Later, a session was held where Farah Mahboob, deputy manager at BRAC’s Innovation Ecosystem and Partnership, and Elizabeth Marandy, senior officer at BRAC’s Microfinance programme, shared their experiences of returning to work after career breaks.

Both speakers said they had stepped away from their careers after the birth of their children to focus on family responsibilities.

Farah Mahboob said returning to work was challenging due to the gap in her CV and the difficulty of balancing motherhood with professional life.

“I tried to take small steps and keep working consistently to adjust again,” she said, adding that a supportive workplace and facilities like daycare helped her regain confidence and continue her career.

Elizabeth Marandy said motherhood and caregiving responsibilities often push women out of the workforce temporarily.

Both speakers emphasised that more organisations should create supportive opportunities so women can return to work after such breaks.