LinkedIn to recognise ‘parenting’ as a job

(Source: Getty) (Klaus Vedfelt via Getty Images)

LinkedIn will now recognise parenting as a job as a way to address career gaps that have formed due to people having children.

LinkedIn director of engineering Bef Ayenew said the platform recognised that there needed to be a way to address career gaps on the site.

Ayenew said women have been disproportionately hit by COVID with millions forced to leave the workforce due to a sudden lack of childcare or to manage at-home learning.

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“We’ve heard from our members, particularly women and mothers who have temporarily stopped working, that they need more ways to reflect career gaps on their profile due to parenting and other life responsibilities,” Ayenew said.

“We introduced new job titles, including “stay-at-home mom,” “stay-at-home dad” and “stay-at-home parent” to allow full-time parents and caretakers to more accurately display their roles.”

Additionally the platform is adding a new field specifically for employment gap types to the profile like “parental leave,” “family care” or “sabbatical,” so that people can address any gaps in their career journey.

“The stigma of employment gaps is already starting to fade. While 72 per cent of job seekers believe there’s a stigma associated with having a career gap, 79 per cent of hiring managers today would hire a candidate with a career gap on their resume,” Ayenew said.

“These profile changes are just a few of the many we’re rolling out over the next few months. Every person’s career journey is different and we’re working hard to make sure LinkedIn provides an inclusive experience for everyone. Stay tuned for more here in the coming months.”

This comes after LinkedIn chief product officer Tomer Cohen announced further profile updates including the ability to add pronouns.

“For many of us, expressing our authentic self is also about our pronouns. They are core to our identity and how we want to be seen,” Cohen said.

“We’re introducing an optional field at the top of the Profile, displayed next to your name, where you can add your gender pronouns.”

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