6 February 2020
Chika Aghadiuno, chair of the IFoA’s Diversity Advisory Group, on issues around career breaks raised at a recent IFoA event.
A career break comes in many different guises and can mean different things to different people.
It can be perceived as code for an enforced period out of work; an opportunity to explore a change of career; and, of course, a time to focus on family – including maternity and paternity leave.
The issues and experiences of career breaks were the focus of a recent event, chaired by myself and hosted by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries – Your Actuarial Career: managing career breaks. Sponsored by specialist recruitment consultancy, Ignata Actuarial and Investments, the event featured an excellent panel of IFoA figures and friends: Sarah Mathieson (IFoA), Lee Faulkner (First Actuarial), Emily McGuire (Aon Hewitt) and Rachel Vecht (MovingAhead).
I expect that many of you will know someone who has been, is or has thought about going on a career break. That person may even be yourself. Yet it is not a commonly discussed topic.
My sense, though, is that this will change.
Diverse people and diverse experiences
Who are we talking about? Mothers, yes, but also fathers (kudos to my employer, Aviva, and others offering equal paid parental leave), carers (think squeezed middle, longer working lives), those experiencing a period of ill health, or the bold and enterprising embarking on a career change/overseas spell.
There is, of course, also redundancy, which in volatile times can impact anyone’s career.
What is clear is that the examples are many and varied. So too are the individuals involved and their experiences. A career break can be something we consider at an early or late stage of our careers, affects men and women, and other cohorts of people.
It was encouraging that the event was well attended. Not just with individuals on career breaks, but some on the cusp of returning and looking to connect and learn from others’ experiences. Some were thinking about potential breaks and some had indirect experience – as line managers or recruiters.
Recruiting returners
As a recruiting manager or people manager, how certain are you that you are not unconsciously eliminating CVs with career gaps? If you have done this consciously, how certain are you that this was the right decision?
The discussion highlighted that people going on career breaks to explore alternative career options often demonstrate a degree of independent thinking and maybe an entrepreneurial or innovative streak – skills that many progressive organisations could benefit from.
For the more prevalent career breaks, maternity or paternity leave, individuals will often take up different tasks/activities that add to their skillset in ways that can be transferable on their return to work. And let’s face it, parental skills are not to be underestimated. As one panellist put it, if you are able to negotiate with a two year old, you can probably deal with many tricky workplace scenarios!
It was with some surprise that an audience poll revealed that more had experience of a career break associated with relocation than with parenthood (46% to 38% respectively).
It was felt that too many recruiting managers perhaps favour a career within national borders, rather than seeing the benefits of international experience and believing in the capacity of a candidate to bring themselves up to speed.
As we look to widen the actuarial skillset, we should also make efforts to widen our appreciation of diversity within actuarial functions, in many different ways.
The Actuaries' Code was referenced. This demands a high level of field-specific expertise. However, it was felt that it is a misapprehension to view this as an impediment to switching fields. Cross-fertilisation is in the profession’s interests and can bring benefits to the bold employer.
Change is happening
There’s a long way to go, but change is happening, with, for example, the proliferation of flexible working practices and investment in mentoring programmes. These are likely to benefit those embarking on career breaks, for whatever reason.
There was also recognition that line managers need support in creating a more inclusive working culture, to cultivate innovation, competitive differentiation, increased productivity and the tapping of talent that could otherwise be lost.
Find out more
- Learn how actuaries can make their IFoA membership work for them when facing a career break
- Watch the video of Your Actuarial Career: managing career breaks on the VLE