Forced Career Break, Toxic Workplaces, Single Motherhood & Still Refusing to Give Up
There’s a very particular kind of exhaustion that comes from trying to rebuild your career while raising a child alone.
People often talk about single motherhood emotionally.
Very few talk about what it does professionally.
Before my sabbatical, I worked with an Italian company where professionalism meant something. Workplaces had structure, accountability, respect, healthy boundaries, and dignity in the way people were treated. I had a career I was deeply proud of and worked incredibly hard to build.
But my sabbatical was not a personal choice.
After marriage, I was pushed into circumstances where continuing my career became nearly impossible. Family expectations, control, and pressure from my in-laws forced me to step away from work despite not wanting to. There was very little I could do at that point without breaking everything around me.
And eventually, I lost the job that once gave me identity, stability, and pride.
It took me nearly three years to gather the courage, emotional strength, and independence to step out of that environment and return to work again after breaking those shackles.
But returning was not easy.
Most opportunities available to me came through NGOs and Section 8 organizations. While some individuals were genuinely kind and mission-driven, many workplaces turned out to be deeply toxic, unstable, and emotionally draining.
I found myself working in spaces where:
• job roles were never clearly defined
• chaos was normalized as “passion”
• overwork was glorified without systems or support
• employees were expected to tolerate unhealthy behaviour silently
• visibility mattered more than capability
• saying “no” to manipulation made you the problem
• professionalism was replaced by pressure to emotionally submit, blindly agree, or participate in cult-like “growth” programs
As a mother, I stayed longer in places I should have left earlier because stability matters when a child depends entirely on you.
I tolerated confusion.
I tolerated disrespect.
I tolerated environments that slowly damaged my confidence because I could not afford to collapse financially.
And yet when I apply to good organizations today, many recruiters only see the “career gap,” the “sprints and jumps,” or the unconventional timeline.
They do not see the woman who fought to reclaim her life and career after losing both her professional identity and personal freedom.
They do not see the years spent surviving silently while trying to protect her child and still remain employable.
I am not afraid of hard work.
I am afraid of losing myself again in environments that punish sincerity, professionalism, and boundaries.
I still believe good organizations exist.
Organizations where ethics matter.
Where leadership is emotionally mature.
Where work culture is healthy.
Where a capable woman with a difficult life story is not automatically treated as a risk.
I am currently looking for opportunities in:
• CSR & Corporate Partnerships
• Program / Project Management
• Events & Experiential Marketing
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Strategic Operations
• Social Impact & Community Programs
Mumbai-based and open to meaningful opportunities with structured, respectful, growth-oriented teams.
If any recruiter or leader reading this believes resilience, integrity, adaptability, and lived strength still matter, I would truly value a conversation.
Because sometimes behind an “imperfect resume” is a woman who had to rebuild her entire life from scratch while still trying to create a better future for her son.