The Nine Months Nobody Puts on a CV

Maternity leave is only one part of the journey

India’s maternity-benefit framework provides eligible women with up to 26 weeks of maternity leave for up to two surviving children. The law also includes provisions for nursing breaks, crèche facilities, and, where appropriate, work from home by mutual agreement.

Internationally, the ILO’s Maternity Protection Convention recommends a minimum of 14 weeks of maternity leave, while its Recommendation No. 191 encourages countries to extend this to at least 18 weeks.

These protections exist for an important reason:

Pregnancy, childbirth and early motherhood require time for recovery and care.

But returning to employment is another transition altogether.

What happens when she comes back?

A 2024 Aon study of nearly 24,000 professional women across more than 560 companies in India found that 75% of working mothers surveyed reported a career setback lasting one to two years after maternity leave. Nearly 40% said maternity leave had negatively affected their pay or that their role changed to something they did not prefer.

These findings do not mean that every working mother experiences discrimination.

They do tell us that career continuity deserves attention.

And this is where the conversation can become more constructive.

Instead of asking only the following:

“How much maternity leave should women receive?”

we can also ask:

“How can organisations help women return successfully and continue progressing?”

Returning is more than reporting back to work

Research from Ashoka University’s Genpact Centre for Women’s Leadership has highlighted several challenges returning mothers face, including career planning, reskilling, negotiation, managing time and responsibilities, and balancing work and childcare.

This matters because a return-to-work programme should not assume a woman simply needs her old desk back.

She may need:

Connection.
Confidence.
Flexibility.
Updated skills.
A clear career conversation.

And sometimes, simply knowing that her organisation still sees her as a professional with future potential can make a meaningful difference.

The workplace conversation is changing

The evidence is also moving beyond maternity leave itself.

A 2024 Ashoka University correspondence study examined how women returning from career breaks were treated in India’s private-sector hiring market. The study found that women with career breaks received fewer callbacks than otherwise similar applicants without a break.

This research concerns career breaks more broadly, rather than maternity leave alone, so it should not be interpreted as proof that every maternity-returning woman faces the same penalty.

But it highlights an important issue:

A gap in a CV can continue to influence opportunities long after the reason for that gap has passed.

That is why return-to-work support matters.

So what can organisations actually do?

1. Start the career conversation early

Before maternity leave begins, discuss the employee’s expected return, career goals and possible transition needs.

Not to pressure her to return.

To make sure her career remains part of the conversation.

2. Make re-entry structured

A returning employee may benefit from a phased transition, appropriate flexibility, mentoring, reskilling or simply a clear understanding of what has changed during her absence.

The right approach will differ by role and individual.

3. Continue measuring career progression

Supporting mothers should not stop at retention.

Organisations can also look at the following:

• Promotion opportunities

• Pay progression

• Access to meaningful projects

• Training and development

• Employee experience after returning

Because being retained is not the same as being able to progress.

And there is another important piece: the support outside work

As an Ayurveda doctor working in Garbhasanskar and postnatal care, I see another dimension of this transition.

A woman’s postpartum recovery is not only about returning to her previous physical state.

She may be adjusting to sleep changes, feeding, childcare, household responsibilities, emotional changes and a completely new identity as a mother.

For some women, returning to meaningful work can itself be an important part of rebuilding confidence and identity.

For others, taking more time away may be the right decision.

There should be no single definition of a successful motherhood journey.

The goal should be choice.

Motherhood should not erase professional identity

We often celebrate women for “managing everything”.

But perhaps we should ask a different question:

Why must a woman prove that she can carry everything at once?

A supportive ecosystem means sharing responsibility between employers, partners, families, communities and society.

It means recognising that motherhood is important without assuming that motherhood automatically means reduced ambition.

And it means recognising that career ambition does not make someone a less devoted mother.

Both can exist.

The question I would ask every organisation

Don’t simply ask:

“Do we have a maternity policy?”

Ask:

“What happens to a woman’s career after she returns?”

Who speaks with her?
Who helps her reconnect?
Who knows her career goals?
Who makes sure she continues to have access to opportunities?

And perhaps most importantly:

Does she feel that she still has a future here?

Because maternity leave should be a period of protection and recovery.

It should not become an invisible dividing line between the woman she was before motherhood and the professional she can become after it.

My question to working mothers and employers:

What is one practical thing that made returning to work easier — or what is one thing you wish your organisation had done differently?

Share your experience.

Your story may help another woman prepare for her own return.

And if you believe the conversation about maternity should include career continuity, not just maternity leave, please share this article.

Because supporting mothers at work should not end when maternity leave ends.