The challenge of women carers returning to work after time away from employment for caregiving

Genevieve Haussegger knew something needed to change. 

The Melbourne mum had a successful career in interior design but decided to step back from her interior design studio just before COVID hit. 

“I’d already been thinking that I needed a change, and it was tough working for myself,” she said. 

“I think I was burnt out … I thought, ‘I can’t do this anymore’.” 

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Around this time, she received the devastating news her sister had cancer. 

A few months out of the paid workforce soon became years, as Genevieve reset her priorities and spent time caring for her sister. 

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Although Genevieve’s story is unique, she is far from the only woman to shoulder caring responsibilities. 

Speaking at National Carers Week, Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth said the importance of carers could not be overstated, but acknowledged it was also far too often unrecognised and undervalued. 

“Carers provide a sense of connection and stability for the loved ones in our lives,” she said. 

“Carers remind us every day that the spirit of support and compassion knows no bounds.”

According to data from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA), 2.65 million Australians – roughly one in nine people – are carers. 

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Although many men are also carers, this little acknowledged and largely unpaid work still falls disproportionally on women’s shoulders. 

CEO of Carers Australia, Alison Brook, said previously the often gendered nature of caring has huge flow-on economic effects. 

“Obligations to take on caring responsibilities fall disproportionately on women, who represent seven in 10 primary carers,” she said. 

“Balancing caring duties with work contributes to women’s higher rates of insecure work, which can have significant implications on women’s lifetime earnings and superannuation.”

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For Genevieve, a few years out of the paid workforce left her unsure of how she should go about restarting her career. 

She recalled having “lost a lot of confidence” in her abilities when, one day by chance, an advertisement for the FW Jobs Academy flashed by on her Instagram. It immediately piqued her interest. 

Jobs Academy was for people just like her. It’s a nationwide program, funded by the Australian Government, that helps women, many of them carers, to find meaningful, flexible and secure jobs. 

It’s not “just another” government program. For Genevieve, Jobs Academy provided a safe community of women.

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These were women who, like her, were ready to once again re-enter the paid workforce – they just needed a little help to get there. 

“The group mentoring sessions are really valuable to meet other people in similar positions, to connect with other people.

“I felt so isolated, it was really interesting just hearing people talk,” she said. 

Genevieve has now come full circle in her career and is back working as a senior interior designer for GHD Design.

“It was really through the Jobs Academy that it came to be,” she said.

Jobs Academy is a FW initiative supported by government funding. It’s a free, fully virtual program designed to boost women’s workforce participation and economic security. Find out more about FW Jobs Academy here.

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