Skillcept Online
Key takeaways
- In an Ashoka University study, women returning after a break for care got 49% fewer callbacks than similar women who hadn’t taken one, and listing upskilling certificates made no significant difference (September 2024).1
- Returnships get you past that screen: about 70% convert to full-time roles across major programs, and returnees are being trained for data science and AI/ML roles (TeamLease Digital, March 2026).2
- You are far from alone: among women outside India’s labour force, 44.4% named childcare or home-making as the main reason (PLFS, 2025).3
- Women hold 36.2% of tech jobs in India, by the same TeamLease Digital report.2
- About 10 hours a week for six months, in blocks that fit naps and school runs, is enough to rebuild the skills and the three projects a restart needs.
Can you restart in data and AI after a break?
Yes. A career restart for women into data and AI works because these roles are hired on skills that can be tested and shown: SQL, Excel and Power BI, Python, and projects. You can learn them from home, in short blocks, and show them in a portfolio anyone can open.
A career break is any stretch out of paid work: maternity, raising children, caring for a parent, a spouse’s transfer, your own health. Whatever the reason, the question behind every interview question about it is the same: are your skills current? Answer that with work dated this year, and the break becomes one line on your resume.
The honest part: a break does cost callbacks at the first screen, before anyone has spoken to you (the data is below). So this plan goes around that screen, through returnships, referrals and roles where your past work counts, and it adds an AI layer, because that is now part of the job: 39% of data and analytics postings in India mentioned AI in September 2025.4
What the evidence says
The penalty is real and measurable, and it sits at the first screen. Returnships and proof of recent work are what get past it.
| Finding | What it shows | Source |
|---|---|---|
| A break costs callbacks | Women returning after a break for care got 49% fewer callbacks than similar women in matched applications to Indian private-sector employers | Ashoka University, 2024 |
| Certificates alone don’t help | Listing upskilling certificates made no statistically significant difference to callbacks | Ashoka University, 2024 |
| Where the penalty is larger | In skill-intensive sectors such as finance (smaller in HR), in smaller firms and in north India | Ashoka University, 2024 |
| How many women it affects | About 7 million women in India have taken a career break and are seeking work | Ashoka University, 2024 |
| Why women are out of work | 44.4% of women outside the labour force named childcare or home-making as the main reason; women’s labour force participation was 40.0%, against 79.1% for men | PLFS, 2025 |
| Returnships convert | About 70% of returnships convert to full-time roles, up to 80% in some industry programs | TeamLease Digital, 2026 |
Sources: Mahajan and S, Ashoka University working paper 125, September 2024;1 Periodic Labour Force Survey, Annual Report 2025;3 TeamLease Digital, Returnship Edition, March 2026.2
Three lessons follow for your plan. Show work, not only certificates, since certificates alone didn’t move callbacks. Prefer large employers and their returnships, since the penalty was larger in smaller firms. And aim where skills are tested, because proof of current skills matters most there.
The demand side is on your side too. TeamLease Digital found employers training returning women for AI/ML engineering, data science, AI product management and GenAI roles, and the report notes about 80% retention among returnee hires in Wipro’s Begin Again program in FY24–25.2 Urban women’s unemployment fell to 6.4% in 2025, from 6.7% a year earlier.3
Returnships in India, checked today
A returnship is a paid, fixed-length program that brings professionals back after a career break, with training, a manager and often a full-time role at the end. Because everyone in it has a gap, it skips the screen where a gap costs the most. Here are eight we checked on each employer’s own page on 22 October 2026.
| Program | Open to | What the employer says |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon India, rekindle | Women | For women with a career break of 12 months or more who are ready to return; selected candidates join an orientation program5 |
| Goldman Sachs, India Returnship Programme | Everyone | Paid, 12 weeks, in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, for previously employed professionals out of work for two or more years; full-time roles may follow, based on performance and open roles6 |
| Intuit Again | Women | A 6-month paid returnship in Bengaluru, with work including development and data engineering; asks for an engineering or computer-applications degree, 3+ years’ experience and a break of at least 12 months7 |
| JPMorganChase, ReEntry | Everyone | A 15-week paid fellowship, April to July, for experienced professionals with a break of at least two years; Indian cities include Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Pune; 2027 applications run 16 November to 28 February8 |
| Persistent, Women’s Returnship Program | Women | Contract-to-hire, for breaks that total no more than 4 years, with a B.E., MBA, MCA or equivalent degree and 4+ years’ experience; three months of learning and certification, then on-the-job placement9 |
| Wipro, Begin Again | Women | For women returning after a break for any reason, from motherhood and elderly care to a sabbatical10 |
| IBM, Tech Re-Entry | Everyone | A full-time, paid returnship for technical professionals with a break of one year or more, offered in India among other countries11 |
| TCS, Rebegin | Women | For women with a career gap and at least two years of uninterrupted past work experience, however long the gap12 |
As each employer’s page described it on 22 Oct 2026. We have no link with these employers.
Programs open and close through the year, so check each page for current openings and dates. Notice what most of them ask for: past work experience, and often a technical degree. Intuit, for one, says close to 80% of its returnees converted to employees.7 If you have that background, apply to returnships first. If you don’t, apply to analyst roles directly, with projects; the next section shows which.
To find more, search careers pages and job boards for “returnship”, “return to work”, “career restart” and “second career”, and start with large employers.
Choose your first role
Choose the role closest to your past work, then add data and AI on top. Your years count most where the new job uses them.
| Before the break, you were | Aim first for | Add |
|---|---|---|
| A software developer or tester | Data engineering, ML engineering or AI engineering, or a returnship in tech | Python for data, SQL, then machine learning and LLM applications |
| An analyst, in MIS, finance or operations | Data Analyst or Business Intelligence roles in your old field | SQL, Power BI and Python on top of your Excel |
| In HR, teaching, sales or support | Data Analyst roles in your function: people, education, sales or customer analytics | Excel to SQL to Power BI, with projects on your field’s data |
| A fresher when the break began | Data Analyst or Junior Data Scientist | The full analyst core, and three projects |
On pay, AmbitionBox shows Data Analysts at ₹5.2–5.7 lakh a year with 1–3 years’ experience and ₹7.2–7.9 lakh with 3–6 years (19 Oct 2026).13 Where your earlier experience counts, ask to be considered for the band that matches it, not only for entry roles.
Whichever role you choose, learn to use AI in it and to check what it gives you. For the full set of first roles by background, see our guide to switching to data from a non-IT background.
Studying with a baby at home
Plan for short, regular blocks, not long days. Consistency beats intensity: the same three slots every week, even when one of them shrinks.
| Your child | Realistic hours a week | When | What fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 6 months | 0–3 | Only if you want to | Rest first. Short lessons on your phone, no deadlines |
| 6–18 months | 5–8 | Nap times and early mornings | Lessons on your phone; 30–45 minutes of practice on the laptop |
| 18 months to 3 years | 8–10 | Before the house wakes, after bedtime, one weekend block | Lessons on weekdays, the project at the weekend |
| At school or day care | 10–12 | School hours and weekend mornings | The full plan, then applications and interviews |
Our suggestion, not a rule: your own week decides.
- Ask for two protected blocks a week from your partner or family, in the calendar like a meeting.
- Use the phone for lessons, the laptop for practice. Watching fits a feed; coding needs both hands and a quiet half hour.
- Keep a learning log with dates and what you built. It becomes your answer to “what have you done lately?”
- Expect bad weeks. A sick child or a sleepless month isn’t failure; restart at the same slot next week.
- If you choose live classes, pick hours when someone else can take the baby. Infinity’s classes are Saturday and Sunday, 11 AM to 2 PM IST, and completing on Infinity needs at least 75% of the core’s live classes; approved make-ups count, and absences excused in writing don’t count against you.
And if a longer interruption comes, plan for it before you start. Here is how pausing works on our Infinity plan, in the words of our FAQ:
On Infinity you can pause once, for up to 12 months, while you’re doing the core modules, then rejoin the first later batch that has reached your point and has a seat. The paused time is added to your 12 months.
- Once, for up to 12 months
- During the core modules
- The time is added to your window
In writingTerms 6.5Agreement 9.1
The 6-month restart plan
Six months at about 10 hours a week: refresh, build, then apply, with one AI step in every project from month four.
| Month | Focus | By the end |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Excel refresh: PivotTables, Power Query; statistics basics | One messy dataset cleaned and summarised |
| 2 | SQL, on Kaggle Learn or any free database | Ten business questions answered |
| 3 | Power BI, with Microsoft Learn | Project 1: a published dashboard |
| 4 | Python and pandas; one AI assistant, used and checked | Project 2: a notebook analysis with an AI-written summary you verified line by line |
| 5 | Project 3 on your old field’s data; a returnship calendar | Three projects on GitHub, dated this year |
| 6 | Resume, LinkedIn, returnship and job applications; mock interviews | Applications tracked, returnships first |
Pick project topics you care about: your city’s air quality, the schools near you, your old industry. Public data on data.gov.in covers most of them, and our 15 projects on Indian public data give you a ready list.
Before you accept an offer, ask HR for the leave, childcare and flexible-work policies in writing. A good employer has them ready; the answer tells you a lot.
Your break, in one line
Put the break in your work history as a dated line, like a job, so no one has to guess, and let the next lines show recent work.
On your resume: “Career break, Jun 2023 to Aug 2025: maternity and full-time care for my child. Since then: SQL, Power BI and Python, with three projects (links below).”
In the interview, use about 30 seconds: the reason in one line, what you did to get current, and why data now. “I took two years out after my daughter was born. For the last six months I’ve studied data analysis about 10 hours a week and built three projects; this dashboard is the one I’d like to show you.” Then stop, and let them ask.
You owe no one the details of your family life. For more scripts, by reason for the break, read our guide on career gap to Data Analyst.
Questions
How do I restart my career after a maternity break?
Rebuild one set of skills employers test, finish two or three projects dated this year, and apply through returnships, referrals and roles where your past work counts. For data analyst roles, about 10 hours a week for six months is enough.
Which companies in India offer returnships for women?
On 22 Oct 2026, the women’s programs we checked on employers’ own pages included Amazon India’s rekindle, Intuit Again, Persistent’s Women’s Returnship Program, Wipro’s Begin Again and TCS’s Rebegin. Goldman Sachs, JPMorganChase and IBM run returnships open to everyone.
Does a long career break hurt my chances?
At the first screen, yes: an Ashoka University study (September 2024) found 49% fewer callbacks for women returning after a break for care. Returnships, referrals and recent projects get you past that screen; TeamLease Digital found about 70% of returnships convert to full-time roles.
Can I learn data analytics with a baby at home?
Yes, in short, regular blocks: two weekday slots and one weekend session, about 10 hours a week once your child is older. Watch lessons on your phone during feeds or naps, and keep the laptop practice for the longer blocks.
Do returnships need a technical background?
Many do: Intuit Again asks for an engineering or computer-applications degree with 3+ years’ experience, and Persistent for 4+ years’ experience. If you don’t have that background, apply directly for data analyst roles, with projects that show your skills.
Should I choose data analytics or AI when I return?
Start with the role closest to your past work. If you coded before, data engineering and AI engineering build on it; if you didn’t, a data analyst role is the quickest way back, with AI skills added on top.
Sources
- Kanika Mahajan and Nandini S, Restart: Women, career breaks and employer response, Ashoka University Working Paper 125, 14 Sep 2024, read 22 Oct 2026.
- TeamLease Digital, AI Career Accelerator: Returnship Edition, reported in Storyboard18, 30 Mar 2026, read 22 Oct 2026.
- Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Periodic Labour Force Survey, Annual Report 2025, press note (January–December 2025), 27 Mar 2026, read 22 Oct 2026.
- Indeed Hiring Lab, September 2025 labour market update, 25 Oct 2025.
- Amazon, rekindle, read 22 Oct 2026.
- Goldman Sachs, India Returnship Programme, read 22 Oct 2026.
- Intuit, Intuit Again: Returnship Program, read 22 Oct 2026.
- JPMorganChase, ReEntry Program, read 22 Oct 2026.
- Persistent Systems, Women’s Returnship Program, read 22 Oct 2026.
- Wipro, Begin Again, read 22 Oct 2026.
- IBM, Return to the workforce with the IBM Tech Re-Entry program, read 22 Oct 2026.
- TCS, Rebegin: closing the gender gap for women in tech, read 22 Oct 2026.
- AmbitionBox, Data Analyst salary in India, as of 19 Oct 2026, read 22 Oct 2026.
