Career Interrupted

How do women defy the odds and get their careers back on track after a break? How do women manage the mummy mafia at the school gate? Is there a motherhood penalty? Can women really have it all - a successful career and a rewarding family life? Does overseas experience really accelerate your career in Australia? How do you recreate your career after a setback?

In Career Interrupted, fourteen high-achieving women talk openly about their challenges in carving out a successful career after a break. These women come from all walks of life - from battlers to privileged backgrounds, from small business to big corporations, from large corporates to small business, from professional services to the community sector.

Several women had children and talk candidly about what it's like to be in the throes of mother guilt and come out the other side; some are expatriates who returned to Australia to rebuild their career, yet others had to re-establish their career after a misstep. These stories are interwoven with the latest research from thought leaders around the obstacles and pitfalls in leaving the workforce for a time and include practical and proven strategies to overcome these hurdles.

Career Interrupted contributes to the discussion and debate in business and the broader community about how to develop workplaces where the contribution of everyone, including women, is recognised, nurtured and optimised. It explores the shared experiences of women who have had to navigate a break in their career and provides a beacon for other women about to embark on a similar journey.

The 14 women include:

• Moira Rayner - Lawyer and former WA Anti-corruption Commissioner
• Frances Adamson - Australian Ambassador to China
• Margeurite Evans-Galea - Scientist, Bruce Lefroy Centre, Murdoch Children's Research Institute; active in Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) Forum
• Dr. Sharon Lierse - Lecturer, Charles Darwin University
• Helen Szoke - Chief Executive, Oxfam
• Kirsten Bartlett - Founder, Created Equal
• Kelly O'Dwyer - Federal Member for Higgins
• Anna Burke - Federal Member for Chisholm
• Jodie Sizer - Principal, PwC Indigenous Consulting
• Lisa Croxford - Lawyer, Herbert Smith Freehills
• Lucinda Nolan - Deputy Police Commissioner, Victoria Police
• Lucinda Dunn - Former prima ballerina with the Australian Ballet
• Tracey Spicer - Journalist and news reader. Runs media company Spicercommunications
• Jennifer Keyte - Journalist and news presenter