Mahindra Group introduces SOAR - Returnship Program for Women after Career Break

By: WE Staff | Friday, 17 January 2025

• SOAR, a unique Returnship Programme for Women
• SOAR aims to Reintegrate Women after Career Break
• Offers Permanent Employment, Training, & Mentorship

SOAR (Seamless Opportunity for Amazing Returnships), is a unique "returnship" programme introduced by the Mahindra Group, a multinational conglomerate. The programme aims to reintegrate women who took a career break into mainstream roles with permanent employment.

The programme offers full-time roles aligned with participants' pre-break experience, mentorship, training, and continued engagement. Part-time or job-sharing options are also available. SOAR aims to address gender disparity and foster inclusion by tapping into the talent pool of women who took a career break of six months to three years after a five-year work experience.

On the first-of-its-kind programme, Ruzbeh Irani, President - Human Resources, Mahindra Group mentioned "Unlike other industry programmes that limit returing talent to short-term projects or fringe roles, SOAR (Seamless Opportunity for Amazing Returnships) acts as a talent accelerator for those women who were on a break. It invests deeply in these professionals, provides them roles aligned to their pre-break experience, as well as an intensive framework of mentorship, training, and continued engagement."

According to data, India's female labor force participation rate is low, with just over 22 per cent in 2024, compared to 59 per cent for men. Companies like TCS, Accenture, and IBM offer flexible work options, mentorship, and re-skilling opportunities to address this gender gap. SOAR, designed for women with prior work experience, begins at Mahindra Leadership University.