Reclaiming their careers
Entrepreneur’s initiative helps women overcome employment gaps and return to work after family leave
Before Sonu Ratra helped build her company, Akraya, into a multinational staffing and consulting firm for Silicon Valley hightech firms, she was a stay-at-home mom eager to get back to work. But Ratra’s resume revealed a 17-month gap in employment. Gaps are common among professional women who leave the workforce to raise children or care for aging parents, but they lead hiring managers to assume the applicants are not committed enough or that they have fallen behind in their skills.
Ratra believes these concerns are based on “myths” about what makes a valuable employee, inspiring her to found Women Back to Work in 2015. This social enterprise arm of Akraya wants to help other “returners” reclaim their careers. Women Back to Work offers free coaching and mentoring and works with Cisco, Google and other major companies to show that smart, talented women possess the life experience and fresh perspectives that create strong and culturally diverse workforces.
This news organization talked to Ratra in late September, when she and her Women Back to Work team hosted a free, drop-in workshop at the West Valley Branch of the San Jose Public Library for about 20 women to learn about crafting an “elevator pitch.” The workshop is part of a series, in partnership with the city of San Jose, that Women Back to Work has begun holding in library branches across the city.
Q Why are returnees such valuable employees?
A They are passionate about the work they are assigned, very committed, and determined to fill any gaps. While they have stepped off the career path, they have been juggling multiple roles.
Some are PTA presidents or Lego robotics moms. They are very organized in their thinking and planning. When they reenter the workforce, they bring these skills with them.
Q What sorts of work are they looking for?
A They tend to be software engineers, program managers, web developers, content writers, technical editors, product managers. And of course HR and finance and marketing people.
Q Back to the beginning: Where are you from?
A I grew up in India and got my master’s degree there. My first job was for a company that was the largest consulting organization in India.
Q You’ve often mentioned your mother in interviews. How was she an inspiration?
A When I was 5 years old, my mother was diagnosed with a spinal cord tumor that left her paralyzed from the neck down. But she raised my sister and I to be brave and to never give up. My mother passed away when I was 17 years old, but she gave us everything we needed to be very independent women. I draw my strength, discipline and conscious need to give back to her and from my father as well.
Q When did you come to the United States?
A I was 24 when I married my husband in January 1996, and we came here in June 1996. My husband was a software engineer, and the U.S. offered the path to the future that everybody wanted.
Q How was it for you finding work here?
A I was on an H-4 visa, the spouse visa, and my biggest concern was, how can I find a job? Nine months later, I had a job. But when I hear educated, professional women talking about coming here on a spouse visa, I know exactly what they are talking about. They can’t work. Then by the time they can legally work, the gap is so large the companies are not so willing to hire them.
Q When did you take your break from work?
A In 2001, I had my daughter and she was born premature. I did think I was going back to my job when I finished my maternity leave. I returned for one meeting, and I brought my daughter with me. She was 3 or 4 months old, and she screamed the whole time. I could have built the support to be able to go back to work, but like a lot of new moms, when I looked at my newborn, I was faced with the choice. I decided to spend some time with her.
Q What was your returner experience like?
A When my daughter was 17 months old, I started applying to companies. The first couple, I didn’t hear back. The ones I had interviews with, they would mention, you’ve got this gap in your resume. That was disappointing to hear because I thought of myself as someone with a lot of experience. I knew I was very strong and independent, that I could make an impact wherever I went.
Q Did you end up finding a job?
A I did. I was offered a role at Adecco Technical, managing the on-site staffing division for Cisco. I was soon assigned the Genentech account. It was a 40-mile drive. They thought I would not take it because I had a baby. I said, “I’ll take it.” It was an opportunity to build something from the ground up at Genentech. I grew that account significantly.
Q You and your husband also started Akraya in 2001. What does Akraya do?
A Our business is primarily staffing and IT consulting. When large companies are building products, we work with them to find the talent.
Q Was helping returners important to you from the beginning?
A Yes, given that I had been in those shoes. When we first started the company, we received a lot of resumes from friends and from colleagues. They’d say, “Can you look at her resume?”
I would send the resume off to some employers, and I’d say, “She’s a great person, a great candidate. I’ve met her, she’s fantastic.” If they said, “What about the gap?” I’d say, “Just interview her. That’s all I’m asking.”
Q How does Women Back to Work help returners?
A We invite women to our Power Hours, every Tuesday at our Santa Clara office from 12 to 1. They don’t need an appointment. This is our team’s opportunity to meet them, look over their resumes. If there are gaps in skills, we might say you should take this class, but you can do it online, so you don’t have to pay a lot of money. If women are having trouble in interviews, we can give them corrective feedback.
Q Do you encourage women to bring their children to the workshops or Power Hours?
A We have a standing invitation for women to bring their children to our Power Hours and our library workshops. We don’t want them to have any barriers to coming.
Q Do women sometimes have trouble selling themselves?
A We prep them for interviews — everything from how to do the handshake to how to respond to questions about gaps. They can say, “I may not have this skill, but this is what I do have.”
Q Don’t tech companies have particular concerns about hiring people who they think have fallen behind on their skills?
A Technology, especially here in the Bay Area, is rapidly evolving. Individuals do need to keep up with what’s happening in the market. At the same time, job descriptions often ask for the moon and the stars. There’s no way people have all those skills. Companies could be hiring for the future and the talent and aptitude of the person.
Q Are there barriers in Silicon Valley being male-dominated or having the image of just being for young people?
A We’ve seen so much data that women tend to leave their jobs because they don’t think they can get promoted. But it’s getting better. Most of the women going back are at the midlevel in their career, and a lot are over 50. One of our star returners, Margaret, had a 19-year gap. She’s a STEM professional who stayed home to look after daughters who had health issues. When she walked into our office, even I thought, “How are we going to help Margaret?” We got her into a threemonth “returnship” program at Cisco. She absolutely blew everyone away.
Q What’s next for Women Back to Work?
A With our library workshops, we want to reach women in underserved communities. There are many jobs that don’t require a PH.D., a master’s degree or even a bachelor’s. I want to really have an impact on families that are headed by single mothers, or women raising kids while doing two low-paying jobs. I also want to take workshops to East Palo and Oakland.