May 2025 | 1224 words | 5-minute read
The Second Act
Indian Hotels Company Ltd's Second That! initiative offers women who have taken career breaks a pathway to return to the professional world, with an aim to address gender diversity in the hospitality industry. Launched in 2023, it targets women who paused their careers for various reasons, offering them roles across different departments without restrictions. The program includes flexible work options and a structured support system, including a comprehensive induction, workplace buddies, and regular check-ins. Elizabeth Mooken, Puja Rohit Kumar, and Fatima Ansari are among the 90+ women who have successfully rejoined the workforce through this initiative, demonstrating both personal transformations and contributing to broader industry changes. Second That! not only helps meet diversity targets but also empowers women, validating their professional worth and enabling them to reclaim their careers.
The Second Act
Second That! by Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL) offers women a pathway to re-enter the workforce after career breaks, thus addressing gender diversity in the hospitality industry. Launched in 2023, the programme specifically targets women who have been out of work for six months or more, aiming to increase female workforce representation to 25%. The initiative acknowledges the various reasons women take career breaks, such as childcare and health issues, and provides a supportive structure for their return.
Elizabeth Mooken, a participant, highlights the personal impact of the programme, having joined the workforce again at the age of 50. Her story is one of over 90 success stories that demonstrate the programme's transformative potential. Second That! offers flexible employment options like full-time and part-time roles, fixed-term contracts, and project-based assignments across various departments.
Participants like Puja Rohit Kumar and Fatima Ansari share their journeys of balancing professional resurgence with personal responsibilities. The programme supports them through structured induction, mentoring, and regular check-ins, facilitating their reintegration and growth in the workplace.
Second That! not only helps individual participants but also serves IHCL's broader goals of fostering diversity and tapping into a pool of experienced talent. The initiative is praised for providing hope and support to women who are considering re-entering the workforce, challenging traditional hiring norms, and promoting gender parity in the hospitality industry. As it expands, Second That! continues to empower women, helping them reclaim their professional identities and demonstrating the value of career re-entry programmes in corporate settings.
The Second Act
Second That! by Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL), is revolutionising the hospitality industry by offering women a platform to re-enter the workforce after career breaks. Launched in 2023, this programme targets women who have been out of work for six months or more, providing them with opportunities to restart their careers in various capacities within the company.
Elizabeth Mooken, a 50-year-old widow, exemplifies the transformative impact of the programme. She returned to the workforce at the hotel where she celebrated her wedding, finding new purpose after her husband's death in 2023. Her story is one of over 90 success stories facilitated by Second That!, which aims not only to meet diversity targets but also to leverage the untapped potential of professional women seeking to return to work.
IHCL has set a goal to increase female representation in its workforce to 25%, recognising the barriers women often face after taking extended breaks from their careers for reasons like childcare, health issues, or socio-cultural pressures. Gaurav Pokhariyal, Executive Vice President of Human Resources at IHCL, emphasises that the programme is designed to give women a meaningful pathway back into the professional world, acknowledging the complex reasons that may have necessitated their breaks.
The programme offers flexible employment options including full-time positions, part-time roles, fixed-term contracts, and project-based assignments. This flexibility allows women to find roles that suit their individual circumstances and professional aspirations. The variety of roles available spans across departments such as Sales and Marketing, Front Office, Kitchen, and Food and Beverage Service.
Puja Rohit Kumar's journey with Second That! began with a part-time position and evolved into a full-time role as Assistant Restaurant Manager, demonstrating the programme’s ability to adapt to the changing needs of its participants. Similarly, Fatima Ansari, who rejoined IHCL after a six-year break to raise her children, faced initial apprehensions about balancing work and home life but found support and encouragement from her colleagues and managers.
The Second That! programme includes a structured support process to ease the transition back into the workforce. New joiners undergo a comprehensive induction through the Taj Swagat program and are paired with a workplace buddy for guidance. A virtual learning journey is tailored based on their roles to equip them with necessary skills, and regular check-ins by general managers and HR colleagues provide further support and career pathing opportunities.
This initiative not only impacts the individuals involved but also creates a ripple effect throughout the organisation and the industry. By hiring 5% of its female employees through this program, IHCL is making significant strides towards its diversity, equity, and inclusion targets. It also challenges traditional hiring norms in the hospitality sector by demonstrating the value and potential of women seeking to return to work after career breaks.
Women like Ms. Mooken, Ms. Kumar, and Ms. Ansari, who have successfully reclaimed their professional identities through Second That!, illustrate the broader shift in corporate perspectives on career breaks. These are no longer seen as endpoints but as pauses in ongoing professional journeys, offering hope and opportunities for women to continue their careers with renewed purpose and confidence. As the hospitality industry evolves, initiatives like Second That! showcase how forward-thinking organisations can address gender disparities and create meaningful opportunities, transforming both individual lives and industry standards.
I never thought that I would get a job at the age of 50, especially one so public facing,” confides Elizabeth Mooken, while describing her professional rebirth. After losing her husband in 2023, Ms Mooken found herself searching for a new purpose amidst her grief. Today, working at the very hotel where she celebrated her own wedding, Ms Mooken embodies the transformative power of Indian Hotels Company Ltd’s Second That! career returnship programme.
“This opportunity came at the right time in my life, when I needed to do something to restart my career,” says Ms Mooken. “I would encourage women to get back out there and rejoin the workforce and see how good it makes you feel. Because it makes me feel on top of the world.” Her remarkable journey represents just one of 90+ success stories emerging from Second That!, which is redefining how women’s career breaks are perceived in the hospitality industry.
For IHCL, it's not just about meeting diversity targets—it's about recognizing untapped potential and providing pathways for talented professionals to contribute once again.
Response to a pressing need
Launched in 2023, Second That! is a career transition programme specifically for women who have taken career breaks of six months or more and offers them a pathway back into the professional world. The programme emerged as a strategic response to both industry-wide challenges and IHCL’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). With a target to increase women’s representation in its workforce to 25% by 2025, IHCL recognised that many women face substantial barriers when attempting to return to work after extended breaks.
“Everyone deserves a second chance to contribute, grow and learn,” says Gaurav Pokhariyal, Executive Vice President – Human Resources, IHCL. “Many women have to take a break in their careers due to childcare, health, or socio-cultural reasons. Our programme gives these women an opportunity to come back to the workforce, giving them a meaningful pathway to achieve their professional aspirations and dreams.” This acknowledgment of the complex social and economic realities that often pull women away from their careers is what distinguishes Second That!. “Through the programme we are also unlocking untapped potential that challenges the traditional hiring norms in the hospitality sector.”
In the first year, 14 women joined the company, across various locations and hotels, through the programme. Today, 90+ women have reclaimed their professional identities through Second That!, and IHCL is actively scaling the initiative across all its hotels and geographical locations.
Flexibility at the core
Second That! recognises that each woman’s circumstances are unique, requiring tailored approaches to employment. Women can choose from various employment options, including full-time positions, part-time roles, fixed-term contracts with built-in flexibility, or even project-based assignments.
This flexibility extends to work profiles as well. The programme imposes no restrictions on roles, with women finding positions across different departments including Sales and Marketing, Front Office, Kitchen and Food and Beverage Service, depending on their experience and skill sets.
After the pause
Behind the statistics lie powerful stories of transformation and renewal. For Puja Rohit Kumar, 38, the journey back to work began with a part-time position at Taj Cidade de Goa Horizon, Goa, in 2022, after a seven-year break to raise her son and support her husband's career moves. What started as breakfast operations duty evolved into a full-time role in 2023 as Assistant Restaurant Manager when her mentors recognised her leadership potential.
“It was a big thing for me to once again take up a full-time job and career,” Ms Kumar admits. “The company gave me almost a month to decide — it is emotionally challenging to be away from your child.” Today, Ms Kumar not only enjoys her financial independence but takes pride in demonstrating a strong work ethic to her son. “He understands the value of working to earn what you want,” she notes.
Navigating challenges
For Fatima Ansari, Corporate Director Sales, amã Stays & Trails, Second That! provided an opportunity to kickstart her career after a six-year hiatus to raise her young children. Though Ms Ansari was rejoining the same organisation — IHCL — where she had started her professional journey nearly two decades ago, she found herself navigating a familiar anxiety that accompanies mothers returning to work.
“Initially I was apprehensive if I would be able to manage at the home front,” she recalls. Before even looking for a job, Ms Ansari worked on preparing her daughter and son, now 12 and 8 respectively, for the transition and established strong support systems at work.
“You also worry about what you might have missed during your break, whether you have the same energy or enthusiasm for your job, about being a different person now,” adds Ms Kumar. “But my managers and colleagues have been really supportive and encouraged me to grow.”
A structured approach
The Second That! programme has a support process that is designed to enable and empower women rejoining the workforce. Joinees receive a comprehensive induction through the Taj Swagat programme and they are then paired with a workplace buddy from the same department for guidance and knowledge sharing. Based on their role, a virtual learning journey is designed to equip them with the skills needed to navigate change, build their personal brand, network, and meet any other workplace requirements.
Regular check-ins by their general managers and colleagues from Human Resources provide encouragement and support, while also building opportunities for career pathing. This structured approach aims to address the challenges faced by women returning to work after extended breaks, from reskilling to workplace culture shifts. IHCL is now developing a cascading a framework that tracks the employee’s growth, leadership readiness and contribution to cross functional collaboration to further scale the programme.
Wider impact
Beyond individual transformations, Second That! creates ripple effects throughout the organisation and industry. For IHCL, it represents a significant step toward meeting their DEI targets — it aims to hire 5% of its female employees through the programme — while tapping into a rich pool of experienced talent. For the women themselves, it offers validation of their professional worth despite career interruptions.
“Many women go through a phase in life where they want or need a break but are worried about what it means for their careers,” Ms Ansari says. “Second That! offers them hope; that there is a corporate that is offering them a chance and actively providing support to re-enter the workforce. It is reassuring to know that such an excellent initiative exists.”
Ms Kumar echoes this sentiment. “I have never come across a programme like Second That! and I am delighted that it exists,” she says. “It helps women to reclaim their ambition and continue their professional careers.”
As the hospitality industry continues to evolve, initiatives like Second That! demonstrate how forward-thinking organisations can address gender disparities and create meaningful opportunities for women. Across IHCL properties and offices, women like Ms Mooken, Ms Kumar and Ms Ansari now move with renewed purpose and confidence. Their journeys represent not just personal victories but a broader shift in how the corporate world views career breaks — not as endpoints, but as pauses in successful professional stories.
—Kermin Bhot
