: I Couldnt Reenter the Workforce. So I Helped 40,000 Women Restart Their Careers #IndiaNEWS #Education Gayathri Tharanipathy, 33, didn’t anticipate that it would be five years before she could rejoin

I Couldnt Reenter the Workforce. So I Helped 40,000 Women Restart Their Careers #IndiaNEWS #Education
Gayathri Tharanipathy, 33, didn’t anticipate that it would be five years before she could rejoin the workforce when she took a career break in 2016. A Javascript developer, Gayathri says her many attempts to get back to work were all in vain. Either her confidence was lacking during interviews, or there were not enough companies willing to hire women with a gap in their professional career.
“I was working with Tata Consultancy Services from 2010 to 2016 after which I went on maternity leave. The leave extended into a career break, but I began actively looking for jobs as soon as I could,??? says the Chennai resident, adding, “I gave a few interviews when I realised my knowledge of technology was lacking. So, I enrolled myself for an internship with an e-commerce platform to get hands-on experience of working with new technologies but soon after that, the pandemic hit and my hopes of finding a job dwindled further. ???
This may well be the story of millions of women trying to rejoin the workforce. In 2017, World Bank estimated nearly 20 million Indian women missing in action from the workforce during 2004-2012.
But it was at this low-point in Gayathri’s professional career when she found Avtar — a diversity and inclusion platform that helps women get a jumpstart on their second career paths.
Having experienced the difficulties of rejoining the workforce first-hand, Dr Saundarya Rajesh founded Avtar in 2000 and has since helped over 40,000 women find successful careers.
“Actually, once we crossed about 35,000, we stopped counting,??? laughs Dr Saundarya as she narrates her story.
Dr Saundarya Rajesh, founder at Avtar — an inclusivity and diversity platform that has helped over 40,000 women with their second career paths.
Uprooting the ‘deep-rooted mindset’ behind women rejoining the workforce
Born in Bengaluru to a pharmaceutical entrepreneur, Dr Saundarya grew up in Puducherry. “I learnt diversity for the very first time right there in my elementary school classroom where my classmates ate differently, spoke differently and were very different persons,??? she says.
After her schooling, she completed her Bachelor of Arts course with honours in English Literature in 1988.
Speaking about the start of her own career, she says, “After I completed my undergrad, I applied for an MBA program at the University of Pondicherry. Citibank came to the campus during my final year, and my husband (then batchmate) and I both got placed at Citi. ???
She adds, “A placement at Citi was a huge deal back then. The offer that I was made at that time was Rs 6000 per month, and the next highest offer [from a different company] was not even Rs 3000.

Stock Market NEWS Best intraday tips Intraday Stocks below 100