What's the Deal: The Mom Project launches in Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- It is an all-too-common problem: Women trying to get back into the work force after stepping out of it for a time to focus on raising their children.
Now, a relatively new concept has launched in Philadelphia to try to provide a solution.
We introduced you to The Mom Project back in May of 2016.
It plays matchmaker for women who want to get back to work and companies trying to fill the gaps new moms leave behind.
And now, it has now officially launched right here in the Philadelphia area.
Allison Robinson started The Mom Project in Chicago after her son was born. Forty three percent of women do leave the workforce after children, but 70 percent say they would continue working if their jobs were more flexible.
For those women, the Mom Project provides project-based work. For companies, it provides needed talent through its maternityship and re-entry programs.
"So that is when companies have someone go out on parental leave, creating a gap in staffing for the organization, we send in one of our professionals who have a very complementary skill set to cover that gap and it provides a really nice vehicle for re-entry for our talent base," said Robinson.
The Mom Project also provides networking opportunities and resources.. For instance, you can sign up for a virtual coffee to talk to a Mom Project community manager like Karen Finn.
"She can guide you through the process, she can give you tips, pointers, if you're feeling reluctant, if you want to know what this is all about, success stories - anything. It's like a 20-minute mentorship," said Finn.
Finn knows how valuable that mentorship is. When we interviewed her in May of 2016, she was looking for a job. Now thanks to motivation from The Mom Project, Finn is back to work as an event planner.
"It's amazingly flexible, very family-friendly and I'm grateful for that," she said.
She's a real success story. And now since the Mom Project started more than 18 months ago, more than 15,000 women and 350 companies have signed up, including Philadelphia-based Penn Mutual.
But the Mom Project is looking for more local companies to participate.
Companies interested in participating in The Mom Project should contact community member Karen Finn, who is leading the growth in the Philadelphia area. She can be emailed at karen.finn@themomproject.com.
For more information on The Mom Project, CLICK HERE.
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