Women’s career breaks

The latest article, “Over 1.3 mil. Korean women quit jobs after marriage in H1,” published in The Korea Times on Nov. 22, prompted me to ponder over the lives of women who take career breaks, because I was also one of them.

I returned to the workforce after a long career break. Just like all women who had willingly or unwillingly quit their jobs at a certain point, I stopped working after giving birth to my children.

I opted to stay out of work during my children’s early years. As they grew, I became keen to restart my career and sought a place that could help me unleash my potential. But finding the right place that would be suitable for my circumstances was awfully difficult.

Hardly any spot seemed to be appropriate for me, at least partially, to achieve a balance between work and life. Child-rearing was just as important as my career. As a mom raising young children without anyone’s help, returning to the office while securing time for my kids was actually a far-fetched dream.

On top of that, I was not an enticing candidate due to my long career gap. Realizing my vulnerability, I resolutely turned my thoughts into action, which was to sharpen my skills to become a more desired candidate. To be capable of recognizing and seizing opportunities at unexpected moments, I made the best use of my free time to study English interpretation and translation for a few years while my kids were at daycare centers. Not knowing how my studies would lead me, my time alone was indeed very tough, uncertain and lonely. In short, the road to re-entering the workforce after a long absence was an uphill battle.

I was lucky enough to land a job where I can relatively easily sustain a work and life balance. My years of endeavors allowed me to find a good place to start. Many moms around me questioned how I got employed. My answer has always been the same: A vast amount of effort is required. It is so regretful that finding a decent job that fits moms has often been seen as unattainable.

What if shortened or flexible working hours become more available for moms? What if more spots are designed for talented moms who are boldly making a comeback? A handful of private and public firms are currently practicing this, meaning only few moms are benefiting from it. If these measures had been widely accessible, my road to rejoining the workforce would have been much smoother and easier. My firsthand experience has taught me that our nation is still far behind other leading countries in terms of the number of flexible jobs available for moms.

I dream of reading more positive and encouraging articles being published next year regarding moms returning to the workplace. It would be incredibly thrilling to see more moms fulfilling both their professional and family goals while continuously enjoying motherhood. More progress should be made at a more rapid pace in the years to come.

The writer (faith0906@gmail.com) is keen to explore the world outside the office and loves to weave stories about our daily lives.