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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Question for all you working mothers: how do you know there is a gap because of childcare? How do you know what the gap was for?
Certainly you can't ask. Are you assuming?

1. What if they were sick with cancer and then recovered?
2. Cared for 2 elderly parents with multiple medical issues, including schizophrenia?
3. Cared for a severely disabled child at the end of their life (Krebbs disease for example)?

These are 3 real life examples from my family and social group where women took years off and then returned to the workforce.
Are these acceptable?[/quote]

The fact that you are equating these situations with the average SAHMs situation -  nothing like what OP said - speaks volumes about you, and not positively.

It's more akin to taking years to travel the world. Your choice? Sure. Respectable? Sure, in some circles. Something that can hurt you in the workforce? Absolutely.[/quote]

No they would not! First it is not even legal for someone to ask and second it is something personal and probably emotionally charged so not really something that needs to be discussed with a stranger in an interview.

Please re-read. My question was HOW would you know what the gap was for? An interviewer is now allowed to ask, and on every thread on here it is a resounding "NO" that you never mention that you stayed home or anything about your kids, availability of childcare, etc.
So again my question for all the working moms on hiring committees is how they would know what the gap was for.[/quote]

The examples you mention are not common.  In those situations, they'd be most likely mentioned in a cover letter.  Are you really this naive, or are you posing arguments just for the sake of it?

[/quote][/quote]

You are obviously not hiring anyone if you think a mentally ill parent is mentioned in a cover letter![/quote]

I honestly don't know how you'd cover a gap spent raising kids or caring for an ill parent.  If I'm on the hiring end, I want to know what the candidate can bring to the organization. If there's a 10-year gap, for example, there's also a huge learning curve in the technology area.  I do think technology - as it advances very quickly - is a major obstacle for people re-entering the workforce.

I'll speak from experience.  As an educator, after many years in the classroom, I held different out-of-classroom positions (training teachers, for example).  When I returned, I had to quickly learn all the programs specific to the classroom.  Although I was familiar with these programs, I had never been given accounts to use them, as they weren't a necessary part of my previous positions.  My management was excellent, and while the curriculum guides were new, they posed no problem b/c I had also written curriculum during that time away from the classroom.

Still, I had to digest quickly at least three new programs that were multifaceted.  Eventually, I become comfortable with these applications, but it took about a semester.  I'm taking summer classes, in fact, to gain more knowledge.

I would think that in any healthy relationship, a working spouse would encourage the SAHP to take classes to keep skills fresh - or to take on a bit of consulting if it fits w/in a field.  For example, I helped a pal - who was out of work - by hooking her up with a curriculum-writing position (contractual).  This consulting job turned into a FT position for her.

If you're motivated, you WILL keep your skills updated.  That's how I look at things.  (And btw, I did help in caring for an ailing parent.  I was PT for 6 years so that I could have a bit more flexibility in my schedule.  And my husband did more than his fair share during that time.)[/quote]

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