International Returning Mothers Day: The new pact to bring moms back to work

Women have surged through classrooms and boardrooms, yet many still step off the career track after marriage or motherhood—and pay for it on re-entry with bias, stalled ladders and thin opportunities. Turning that exodus into a public agenda, WePOWER (a World Bank–supported network), IEEE, and the iExplore Foundation for Sustainable Development have declared International Returning Mothers Day to recognise, support and celebrate women resuming work after breaks. The observance was formally launched on 15 November 2024 at IISc Bangalore during the IEEE Returning Mothers Conference—an initiative that has, since 2014, provided mentorship, networking and skill-building to thousands of women worldwide. The first official celebration of International Returning Mothers Day was held on 10 September 2025 in New Delhi.Dr Ramalatha Marimuthu, Director, iExplore Foundation for Sustainable Development, and Chair, IEEE WIE Returnship Committee, set the agenda by stressing why 10 September must be marked each year. “Celebrating the Returning Mothers Day is a call to employers, families, and communities to recognize their value, remove barriers, and create pathways for growth. By supporting them, we invest in stronger workplaces, healthier families, and a more inclusive society," she said.Picking up that mandate, Dr Tripta Thakur, Chair of the WePOWER India National Chapter & Director General, National Power Training Institute, shifted the focus to confidence and well-being for women restarting their careers. "Returning mothers must not be afraid of resuming their careers, nor should they feel guilty about balancing work and life. Above all, taking care of oneself should always be the first priority, " she said.Gottfried von Gemmingen, Head of Economic Cooperation and Development at the Embassy of Germany also lauded the Returning Mothers initiative. “Enhancing mothers‘ return to their job requires very concrete action – India’s Energy and Power Sector is well advised to secure this important and well-trained workforce,” he said. The conference carried keynote addresses from representatives of the World Bank, the WePOWER India National Chapter, IEEE and other partner organisations, alongside panel discussions and fireside chats. Sessions probed three core themes: Facilitating a Second Innings: Institutional Interventions to Bring Women Back into the Workforce; What it takes - Supporting Women to Return and Succeed; Returnship Roadblocks – What’s Holding Recruiters Back and How Do We Fix It?Organisations do not merely lose headcount when mothers pause careers; they haemorrhage tacit, firm-specific know-how that never sits in manuals or KPIs. The result is sunk training costs, slower ramp-ups and a thinner management pipeline, observed panellist Debdatta Saha, Faculty of Economics, South Asian University.“A part of human capital which is intangible. Now comes the gender angle. A woman who has been working in the workforce up to a certain point of time, needs a break because she needs to become a mother. The labour force is losing out on that irreplaceable non-tangible human capital. The graveyards are full of replaceable people. But when you think of that replacement, the information that stays with that person is lost. There is this part which cannot be quantified. Things which could be personally communicated are now gone,” said Saha. Saha also believes that when firms fail to back mid-career mothers with clear policies and support, exits deplete hard-won training and thin the leadership pipeline. She argues the resulting male skew at the top narrows decision-making and dampens the ambitions of girls entering STEM.“So now the women who could climb from mid-career to the top will now be replaced by men/others. That will have multiple implications.What would happen when the entire top-level composition would become non-women, or non-mothers who are at the decision making of the organization? Not only would the decisions have the male-centric effect; the second thing that comes into it is: This will also have an impact when young girls will be entering into the workforce,” she observed.Another panellist, Puneet Jain, Additional Vice President (HR), BSES Rajdhani Power Limited, said the utility remains male-dominated but has held attrition at about 4%, kept maternity-related exits near zero. Our industry is male-dominated; women comprise 10–11% of our workforce. We track performance and year-on-year improvements through LOAs (lists of activities). Over the past two years, average attrition has been about 4%, with women accounting for less than 0.5%. Maternity-related resignations were zero in the year before last and one in the most recent year. As head of HR, I have led several initiatives to promote gender diversity and increase representation. In the last two years, we have focused on changing mindsets and engaging male employees to champion inclusion, including raising awareness of unconscious bias.Talking about policy and culture levers for returning mothers in STEM, Koel Singhal, Senior Vice President (HR), PTC India Ltd, outlined hybrid work, manager awareness and flexible leave as priorities. She noted that investing in these supports closes talent gaps and yields outsized loyalty. “The STEM workforce is already small; if we miss out on returning mothers, the gaps only widen. Loyalty increases manifold when mothers are given a chance,” said Singhal.Framing return-to-work as a shared infrastructure challenge, Abhishek Ranjan, CEO, BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd, said success depends as much on the household as on the employer. He underscored that spouse support, workplace flexibility and reliable domestic help form the scaffolding that sustains a mother’s comeback.“While we were young, both me and my wife worked hard and had different expectations at work. Partners must realise that when you do not have a family, you can keep your own schedule; once you decide to start one, you must plan how to make it work. Support systems need to be in place. That support must exist at both work and home. Spousal support comes first—both partners have to step up for each other. By the time you get home, both are tired; reliable house help becomes essential,” he observed.Extending the home–work scaffolding point, Arpit Sharma, CEO, Skills Council for Green Jobs, argues that returns stick when culture is led from the top and converted into policy—childcare support, manager awareness and explicit respect for women. “In conventional Indian organisations and families, culture flows from the top. We created a childcare policy specifically for a woman on our team. At home, the mindset must be one of equal respect for women; culture is something you create, not something you simply learn. When people see an enabling environment, they tend to replicate it.I have applied this throughout my career—making it a point to maximise women’s inclusion in training. It is important to nurture this mindset across teams, and it is achievable across the country.”Like Ranjan and Sharma, Priti Nahar, Senior Deputy Manager, POWERGRID also shed spotlight on the first support system: Family. Her emphasis is clear—shared domestic labour, fathers modelling participation, and spouses willing to “upskill” at home keep mothers’ careers and wellbeing on track.“I saw my father, a director in the education department; he cooked and loved it. At the same time, he was very successful in his professional life. I learnt from him that you do not need to sacrifice your career for this,” said Nahar. She also added, “I believe lazier’ mums raise responsible kids. Do not try to be a superwoman. Everyone has a superwoman in their life; you do not have to be one. Your children want you to be a happy mum, not a super mum. If you need to relax, please do. Your husband needs more upskilling. Teach him how to cook.”India cannot afford career break attrition. When mothers return, firms recover sunk training, teams regain tacit know-how, and girls see leadership, not ceilings. In STEM, power, and manufacturing, even small gains in female participation lift innovation, safety culture, and output. At the macro level, returns expand the tax base, reduce dependency ratios, and raise household investment in girls’ education. This is not CSR; it is a growth policy.