Brenda Barnes, chief executive officer of Sara Lee Corp., has created a program designed to enable parents who have left the workforce to return and restart their climb up the corporate ladder.
Sara Lee announced that it is starting "returnships," a program that offers mid-career professionals paid four- to six-month internships at the company.
Ms. Barnes, who left her job as Pepsico's president in 1997 to spend time with her kids, knows what it is like to leave the workforce and then attempt to step back in.
"I haven't seen anything like this (before), and it's a great idea," Robert Wilson, president of Employco Group Ltd., told Crain's Chicago Business. "It's a great opportunity for someone re-entering the workforce."
Sara Lee is seeking professionals across a wide variety of career disciplines including brand management, finance, human resources, marketing, product innovation, and sales.
Discussion Questions: What do you think of the idea behind Sara Lee's "returnship" program? Will this be something taken up by other companies?