Indicating maternity leave on a resume to explain employment gap
My last job before going on maternity leave was a contract role that was not extended during my pregnancy, before I went on leave. It's a long story and I don't want to get into the human rights issue here, but I was still technically employed a few months into my maternity leave because my contract end date was about two months past my due date.
I'm now looking for work, and I want hiring managers and HR professionals to understand why I haven't been employed for the last 18 months when they look at my resume... so I indicated my maternity leave in my employment date for my last job as follows:
Aug. 2021 – Sept. 2024 (maternity leave)
I did manage to land one interview with this on my resume, so I'm not sure if it's a big deal either way. Should I keep "maternity leave" on my resume to explain the employment gap or remove it?