A Big Idea: The Brand Slam Dunk
Momternships
An idea that came from turning a personal experience to a practical solution.
Momternships are professional opportunities that do not require relevant work experience or an explanation for a women’s gap in her resume. They are well-deserved and mutually beneficial. Momternships make a cultural statement about how the modern day workplace sees caretakers who step-away and further carve a path for any woman who is ready willing and able to work hard and contribute. In truth, this program is more than an opportunity, it’s a movement.
Swag Momterns received program swag on their first day, as well as a variety of complimentary memberships and gift cards.
IPG creative agency MullenLowe is helping mothers get back into the workforce with the launch of a new program, “Momternships.” The 10-week internship program is designed to support moms who want to return to work by way of mentorship, coaching, networking and on-the-job training.
The initiative seeks to center the experiences of working mothers to address how they have been disproportionately impacted in the workforce, both historically and today.
For a bit of background, an estimated 1.1 million women left the workforce during the pandemic, making women’s participation in the paid labor force the lowest it has been in almost a century. As many women who left work to care for their families navigate the road back, they are met with obstacles. According to the fifth annual Modern Family Index from Bright Horizons, 72% of working parents agree that women are penalized in their careers for starting families while most men are not.
The idea was a reaction by creative director and Momternship co-founder Kris Mangini Thompson, who took a pause from her advertising career several years ago to focus on her family. After a while, she decided she wanted to try something new and applied for several entry-level jobs, all of which dismissed her and labeled her as overqualified.
“I was a creative person long before I was a mom; however, as a parent, the instinct to solve shifted me into hyperdrive,” said Mangini in a statement. “That’s when I realized that professional moms were a blind spot that demanded a solution. I thought, what if we could remove the convention of what qualifies someone for a job and call it an opportunity? And rather than calling someone overqualified, call them superqualified. I shared the idea with MullenLowe, and that’s how the Momternship program was born.”
Momternships do not require relevant work experience or an explanation of a gap in a resume. Mothers of all backgrounds and levels of experience are encouraged to apply at the Momternships website.