Women returning to work: ‘I had been home minding our children for 15 years… after that length of time, how do I even start?’

When Dublin mother of two Eileen McMahon decided to go back to work after more than a decade at home with her two children, she wasn’t quite sure how to navigate the return.
“Four or five years ago, I was intending to get back to work, and I found myself kind of making excuses about how to start,” she tells The Irish Times Women’s Podcast.
“I had been home minding our children, a boy and girl, for 15 years… I found myself questioning what I wanted to do, how relevant my experience was, and after that length of time, how do I even start?”
One morning at home, McMahon heard a radio item about Work Equal, a free service which helps women return to the workplace, founded by stylist and social entrepreneur Sonya Lennon.
“I was listening… and the person said about not recognising yourself, and …that is exactly how I felt. So I just rang Work Equal and from then on, I was introduced to such lovely, passionate, kind people”.
“I found every step, every interaction I had, whether it was a session with workshops, with CV preparation, anything like that, was just so positive. And I just came away much happier after every session,” she adds.
Not long after, McMahon was hired as a sales associate in a large fashion retailer, a job she loves and says is “very different to everything I’ve done before, but it’s exactly what I needed to get myself out there”.
In this episode, podcast presenter Róisín Ingle is also joined by Work Equal founder Sonya Lennon who talks about the barriers facing women returning to work, the first steps to getting back out there and why it’s crucial to see women in leadership roles, so that change can begin from the top.
You can listen back to their conversation in the player above or wherever you get your podcasts.