At Back to Work Connect, our mission is to support midlife Returners and help employers tap into this often-overlooked talent pool. At our recent employer event, Reignite, Reskill, Recruit: Making Recruitment Returner Friendly we brought together thought leaders, HR professionals, and returner advocates to explore one essential question: What does it really take to make recruitment returner-friendly?
The Case for Change
Ireland’s workforce is rich in potential—but not always equitable in practice. With women making up 51% of the population and a gender pay gap of 9.6%, there’s urgent work to be done in how we attract, retain, and value talent. The census tells a revealing story: 98% of homemakers are women, many of whom are highly skilled, experienced, and ready to return to the workforce.
But the reality is stark—Returners often face outdated hiring practices, unconscious bias, and rigid job structures that exclude rather than welcome.
What Returner-Friendly Recruitment Looks Like
Returners aren’t just job seekers—they’re career rebuilders, bringing with them ambition, adaptability, and a wealth of life and work experience. To attract this cohort, companies need to move beyond box-ticking DEI efforts and commit to real, structural change.
That starts by:
Recognising and valuing career breaks: Not as gaps, but as growth.
Simplifying the application process: With inclusive language and realistic requirements.
Offering flexibility: Job-sharing, part-time roles, and hybrid options are no longer “nice to haves.”
Providing supportive onboarding and returnship programs: Because confidence-building is key to long-term retention.
Our event highlighted that inclusive recruitment isn’t about lowering standards—it’s about widening the lens. Hiring managers must be trained to see potential over perfection and embrace applicants with non-traditional paths.
Tackling Bias Head-On
Bias—both conscious and unconscious—is one of the biggest barriers for Returners. It shows up in assumptions around age, career gaps, caregiving responsibilities, or even “culture fit.” Our speakers broke down how bias manifests, from affinity bias to proximity bias, and offered tangible strategies to counteract it:
✔️Training hiring managers and teams to challenge assumptions
✔️Designing interviews that assess core skills, not just recent experience
✔️Encouraging on-the-job learning and continuous development
We also explored how our worldview—often shaped within a narrow radius—limits our ability to hire inclusively. A key takeaway? Exposure changes perception. When employers get to know Returners, they see capability, not compromise.
Tools to Support Inclusive Hiring
Back to Work Connect in partnership with Tools For Better has developed a four-module training series to help employers embed Returner-Friendly practices into every stage of the hiring journey—from understanding the returner talent pool to creating fair CV assessments and interviews. We’ve also introduced an AI-powered tool to help rewrite job descriptions for impact and inclusion.
Employers that adopt these tools not only broaden their talent pool but also contribute to social impact aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals.
The Bigger Picture: Trust, Flexibility & Culture
One critical theme echoed throughout the event was trust. Returner-friendly recruitment only works within a culture that trusts its people and supports work-life balance. That means aligning policies with the Work-Life Balance Act, tailoring flexibility to different roles, and shifting focus from presenteeism to performance.
Larger organisations may face structural challenges in rolling out flexible options—but the business case is clear. Flexible working isn’t just good for Returners—it attracts top talent across all demographics.
Final Thoughts
Creating a Returner-friendly recruitment process isn’t just a “nice to have”—it’s a strategic imperative. Companies that embrace inclusivity, flexibility, and fairness are not only addressing the gender pay gap, they’re future-proofing their workforce.
At Back to Work Connect, we believe every returner deserves a fair shot at reigniting their career—and every employer deserves the incredible value they bring.
Let’s reignite. Let’s reskill. Let’s recruit—smarter, fairer, and more inclusively.
For more information and supports on creating a Returner Friendly recruitment process reach out to our team at info@backtoworkconnect.ie
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If you missed the event you can watch it back via the link below,
