Non-linear careers can be a good way to help women navigate less predictable career paths – many have been forced by circumstances to embrace them. But, as the world changes and more people take them up by choice, it might be time to reassess how they impact workplaces
There is nothing new about the idea of a non-linear career, particularly for women. It’s an agile or flexible approach to careers that – more often than not – comes about through circumstances, career breaks, setbacks such as redundancy, and time out of the office during maternity leave or for caregiving responsibilities.
At One Loud Voice (1LV) we see the impact of non-linear careers on women all the time. We want to support women in the workplace at every point of their career journey. We have a particular focus on the sticky middle. This is the lack of a healthy female talent pipeline in middle management, which in turn impacts senior leadership opportunities. It is the sticky middle that is most likely to be impacted by time out of their career because of maternity leave, or because women need to work flexibly to look after their children or parents.
Women in the workplace
Women have always had to adapt and be resilient to workplace changes. They take the lion’s share of childcare and care for sick children and ageing relatives, which means they take more chunks of time out of their career; they may be keener for flexible working to – again – provide care, which (sometimes) comes with the label of ‘not fully committed’ to a job. One or several of these circumstances will have helped to shift them to non-linear trajectories. As a result they are (very) unlikely to rise to the top of their chosen – or any –field.
For some women, non-linear careers can open different doors. As well as building resilience, non-linear career paths can allow women to follow new interests or passions, and in the process build more fulfilling careers. They can force them to learn new skills. And they can ensure that women get the flexibility they need during periods of caregiving or other commitments.
The double-glazed glass ceiling
For every woman who in the past found something positive about a non-linear career, another will have found challenges. Frequent job changes or career breaks lead to gaps in employment history. Traditional industries in particular may see this as a bad thing, and discount potential candidates or block promotions. More often than not, career interruptions also interrupt pay and pay potential, resulting in an overall lifetime of lower earnings compared to men who have chosen similar careers or firms to work for.
There are also invisible challenges that come with a non-linear career. Building and maintaining professional networks can be difficult. There may also be societal or workplace biases against women who choose non-linear careers.
Is something about to change?
The trend to a non-linear career accelerated through the pandemic, as increasing numbers of people realised they didn’t have to work 9-5 in an office each day and spend hours commuting every week. They could do something different, earn less money and be happier. Men and women chose to swap finance to indulge a passion for fashion, they changed commutes for coffee, halved meeting times by using video calls, and took out stress wherever they could.
Fast forward a couple of years and the advances in artificial intelligence (AI) are again pushing at the doors of change. Jobs are being automated, meaning more people need to develop new skills and be adaptable to remain employable.
All this means that the traditional model of linear careers is breaking for men as well as women – and with it, there is a chance that some of the traditional biases against women who follow non-linear careers might be about to change.
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