Fast Company “I had 15 years of professional experience, but no one cared when I became a mom”

From: Fast Company - Wednesday Apr 03, 2019 01:51 pm

“I had 15 years of professional experience, but no one cared when I became a mom”

April 3, 2019

Good morning!

Rita Kakati Shah was thinking about coming back to work after three and a half years of raising her two children full-time. She had 15 years of professional experience in the finance and pharmaceutical industries--including a 10-year stint at Goldman Sachs. But when she started reaching out to her professional contacts, she was surprised to find the hostility that came her way. "Nobody--not once--asked me about my background and my credentials. Everyone was so focused on the gap on my résumé. The fact that I chose to take a career gap to raise my family translated to me being a quitter in a lot of people’s eyes," Shah told Fast Company.

Shah was experiencing the "mommy tax." Eventually, she turned her frustrations into starting Uma--a business that helps mothers transition back into the workforce. She recently shared her story with Fast Company as part of our gender pay gap package, "Short Changed."

—Anisa Purbasari Horton

“I had 15 years of professional experience, but no one cared when I became a mom” A finance professional turned entrepreneur reflects on the motherhood bias and stereotypes she faced during her return to work.

“I’ve been a nurse for 20 years. The male nurses I work with have a different pay track” A nurse practitioner talks about the gender pay gap in nursing, and what she has learned about negotiating and advocating for herself.

Target’s newest furniture is for kids with sensory sensitivity Weighted blankets. Rocking chairs. And a big, soft bag to hit at full speed.

Inside Ikea’s plan to reinvent itself as a circular company From rental furniture to modular couches, the company is finding more and more ways to limit its use of raw materials.

In this $98 bra you can play soccer one minute, breastfeed the next Bra startup Molly T. fundamentally rethinks the structure of the bra so that you can adapt the compression as your body changes.

Apple’s funny new ad crams in nearly every product, including its pizza box The three-minute spot gives a starring role to the round boxes Apple employees use to take pizza back to their desks.

Ageism is thriving, so what are companies doing about it? From not even getting past the first interview to being segregated into niche roles, older workers are still facing discrimination. Some companies are trying to fix that.

Now Facebook is asking for your email’s password if you want to use the site No, seriously. Facebook is asking some users for the password to their personal email account.

A grand optical illusion teases conspiracy under the Louvre The 183,000-square-foot mural was both an amazing 3D illusion and a metaphor of the ephemeral nature of art itself.

The movie business moves to the acceptance phase in its Netflix grief complex At the movie-industry confab CinemaCon, the Motion Picture Association of America tells streamers: We’re in this together.

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Fast Company Newsletters

Fast Company “I had 15 years of professional experience, but no one cared when I became a mom”

“I had 15 years of professional experience, but no one cared when I became a mom”

“I’ve been a nurse for 20 years. The male nurses I work with have a different pay track”

Target’s newest furniture is for kids with sensory sensitivity

Inside Ikea’s plan to reinvent itself as a circular company

In this $98 bra you can play soccer one minute, breastfeed the next

Apple’s funny new ad crams in nearly every product, including its pizza box

Ageism is thriving, so what are companies doing about it?

Now Facebook is asking for your email’s password if you want to use the site

A grand optical illusion teases conspiracy under the Louvre

The movie business moves to the acceptance phase in its Netflix grief complex