The Return to Work One

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This Episode: Returning to work is rarely just a logistics problem. It's a confidence problem, an identity problem, and for many women, a systemic problem that organisations still haven't taken seriously enough.

Clair Madeley and Jo Edgar speak from experience: as practitioners and as women who've navigated the return themselves. This is a conversation about what actually makes coming back harder than it needs to be and what genuine support looks like.

Full episode resources at womentalkingaboutlearning.com

Guests: Clair Madeley is a Technology Trainer and Learning Specialist who has navigated her own career transitions. She knows firsthand what it's like to manage confidence dips, identity shifts, and the practical realities of stepping back into work. linkedin.com/in/clair-madeley-175b8522

Jo Edgar is a Freelance Executive Coach and Leadership Trainer with over 20 years in learning and development. She specialises in coaching women returning to work after career breaks — whether through maternity leave, caring responsibilities, redundancy, or life taking a different turn. jo@joedgarcoachinganddevelopment.com | linkedin.com/in/jo-edgar-15b692151

Resources: How to cope with mum guilt | Emma's Diary Back to the office: not what women need | NOON Caregiver Leave in the UK | Contend Legal Flexible Work Arrangements | Benepass Flexible Work Arrangements | Women in Research 10 ways flexible working attracts senior women | Timewise Investing in Women Return Ready Week Survey Results Challenges facing women in post-study jobs post-pandemic | HEPI Employers' return to office plans 2025 | CIPD Getting Back to Work | IES Office Return Varies Across Sectors | British Chambers of Commerce Gender Differences in Loneliness Returning to work after a break | South London Partnership Returner toolkit | GOV.UK Women, work and caring | IES Women in AI (#WAI) Women Are Avoiding AI. Will Their Careers Suffer? | HBS Working Knowledge WISE Campaign Top 3 barriers women face returning to work | IEP Social Innovation Analysis on Women Back to Work Women's health: a quarter shamed into returning early | FemTech World Half of mothers have negative experiences returning after maternity leave. AI and gender equality | UN Women

Thank you for listening.