Making Work Work

October is ADHD Awareness Month.

At Making Work Work, we hear the same thing again and again: people whose brains work differently often spend years managing that difference before anyone gives it a name, or the right support.

Many of our participants come to this through caring for someone else. They start out advocating for a partner, a child or another loved one, and along the way recognise similar traits in themselves, which is often what starts their own diagnostic process.

However, a formal diagnosis isn't mandatory to act. Good managers and employers can notice when someone's finding something difficult, acknowledge it, and work out what's within their gift to help alleviate it.

While ADHD can present genuine challenges with attention, impulse control and energy regulation, it's paired with hyperfocus, creative problem-solving and pattern recognition skills that add real value to teams. The workplaces that get the most from neurodivergent colleagues aren't the ones that expect people to merely mask and cope.

A little professional curiosity goes a long way: it lets us bring our best selves to work, helps us bring out the best in each other and build successful organisations together.

Find out more: adhdawarenessmonth.org

Over this week and last, we explored confidence and imposter syndrome with our latest cohort of Ready to Rise and Edinburgh Women.

Taking a career break, whether for family, health or personal growth, can be necessary and valuable. Yet time and again, women tell us that one of the biggest impacts of stepping away from work is a drop in confidence and self-esteem.

It’s easy to feel out of touch with industry trends, disconnected from professional networks or unsure about returning to a fast-paced workplace. And that can quickly turn into self-doubt: Am I still good enough? Have I fallen behind?

But here’s the thing: your skills, experience and perspective don’t disappear when your career takes a different direction. And confidence isn’t always something we’ve lost. Sometimes it’s been shaken by workplaces and career paths that don’t always make room for the twists, turns and pauses that real life brings.

That’s why our work isn’t just about getting women back into work. It’s about helping them recognise what they bring, build confidence and find a route forward that works for them.

For some, that might mean returning to employment. For others, it might mean starting something of their own.

Through our Ready to RISE programme, we’re supporting women to explore social enterprise and turn ideas into purposeful ventures.

Different journeys. Different destinations. The same belief that people have more to offer than they sometimes realise.

Spaces are still available on upcoming cohorts of Making Work Work – for Edinburgh Women and Ready to Rise (for women across Scotland). Find out more at www.makingworkwork.scot

What if you didn’t wait until next year?

There are still spaces on our October cohorts for women who are ready to make a change – whether that means returning to work, exploring a new direction or turning an idea into something real.

Making Work Work – for Edinburgh Women
For women on a career break who want to rebuild confidence, refresh their skills and find work that fits around their lives.

Ready to RISE
For women across Scotland who want to explore social enterprise and develop an idea that could create sustainable income and make a difference in their community.

Both programmes are free, supportive and designed to help you move forward from wherever you are starting.

You don’t need a five-year plan. You don’t even need to know exactly where you’re heading. You just need to decide that you’re ready to take the next step.

October is coming. Could this be your starting point?

Find out more and apply at makingworkwork.scot

This week marks International Week of Happiness at Work: a global initiative with a simple ambition: making happiness at work “the rule, not the exception”.

But what does being happy at work actually mean in 2026? It’s probably more than free fruit, a Friday quiz or a wellbeing app.

For us, it’s about purpose, flexibility, supportive relationships and feeling valued. It’s about having the autonomy to do your best work, the confidence to speak up, and a workplace culture where people can thrive.

And it isn’t just down to the individual. Leadership, culture and the way work is designed all play a part.

At Making Work Work, we explore these things with women returning to work after a career break – helping them think about not just getting back into work, but finding work that works for them.

Because returning to work shouldn’t mean returning to the same old expectations.

A happy workplace isn’t one where everyone is cheerful all the time. It’s one where people can thrive, contribute and be themselves while still having a life outside work.

That feels like something worth working towards.

Today is the United Nations International Equal Pay Day.

While the gender pay gap is often talked about as a number, it is really a symptom of something much bigger: the structural inequalities that shape women’s opportunities, careers and earning potential.

Globally, women earn around 20% less than men, and progress towards closing the gap remains far too slow. The UN highlights how unpaid care, the motherhood penalty, gender stereotypes and discriminatory recruitment and promotion practices all contribute to pay inequality.

For the women we work with at Making Work Work, these barriers can be compounded by career breaks, caring responsibilities, disability, health, neurodivergence and other circumstances that can affect how – and when – someone participates in the labour market.

So what can employers actually do?

The UN Women Gender Equality Checklist points to three practical areas for action: flexible working, equal pay and tackling bias in technology and AI.

For us, that means:

-Design work around people’s lives – make flexible and hybrid working a genuine option, rather than something people have to negotiate or justify.

- Make pay fair and transparent – review pay and progression, tackle unequal starting salaries, and ensure people are rewarded equally for work of equal value.

- Challenge bias in recruitment, promotion and technology – including the algorithms and AI tools increasingly being used to make decisions about people’s careers.

- Recognise the value of career breaks and caring experience – a gap on a CV doesn't erase the skills, knowledge and experience someone brings.

- Build accountability into inclusion – gender equality shouldn't depend on individual managers being particularly enlightened. It needs to be reflected in policies, processes and everyday workplace culture.

Equal pay isn't simply about paying women more. It's about removing the barriers that mean women have fewer opportunities to earn, progress and thrive in the first place.

That is what equality looks like in practice.

Learn more from Equal Pay International Coalition and view the full UN gender equality checklist at UN Women: https://www.unwomen.org/en/articles/explainer/your-gender-equality-checklist-flex-work-equal-pay-fair-tech

Time for a September reset? Still wondering what your next move could look like in 2026?

There’s still time to make a change – and you don’t need to have the whole plan worked out yet.

Maybe you’re ready to return to work after a career break. Maybe there’s a social enterprise idea you’ve been turning over for a while. Or perhaps you just know that what you’re doing now isn’t quite working for you anymore.

Whatever your starting point, we have two free programmes designed to help you take the next step.

Making Work Work – for Edinburgh Women

A free, award-winning programme helping women on a career break rebuild confidence, refresh their skills and find work that fits their lives.

Ready to RISE

A free programme for women across Scotland who want to explore social enterprise – developing an idea into sustainable income while making a difference in their community.

Our next cohorts start in October, and there are still spaces available.

You don’t need all the answers. You just need to be ready to explore what comes next.

Find out more and apply at makingworkwork.scot

This week is National Inclusion Week.

Inclusion isn’t always about doing something big. Sometimes, it’s about noticing the barriers that make work harder for people and being willing to do something about them.

This year’s theme, “Build Trust. Navigate Change.”, feels particularly relevant, because workplaces are changing. Expectations are changing. People’s circumstances change too.

Through our work with women returning to the workforce, we see how easily talented people can be pushed to the margins by things that have little to do with their ability or potential: career breaks, caring responsibilities, inflexible working practices, disability, neurodivergence, menopause or simply needing work to fit around real life.

Building an inclusive workplace means creating the conditions where people can contribute and thrive rather expecting everyone to fit the same mould; that requires more than good intentions. It means listening. Having honest conversations. Challenging assumptions. Building trust. And taking practical action, even when resources are tight and the wider environment feels uncertain.

For us, inclusion is about seeing the talent that can too easily be overlooked, and removing the barriers that stand in its way.

Today, Scotland marks the first ever national Employability Day, bringing organisations, employers and employability partners together to showcase the support available to people looking for work.

We’re proud to support the initiative and its theme, ‘Changing Lives Together’.

Because helping people move forward isn’t something any one organisation can do alone.

Through our work with women returners and social entrepreneurs, we see every day the difference that the right support, connections and opportunities can make.

For a woman returning to work after a career break, it might be the confidence to recognise the value of the skills she already has. For an aspiring social entrepreneur, it might be the encouragement and practical support to turn an idea into a sustainable livelihood.

And sometimes, it’s simply having someone say: “You can do this. Let’s work out how.”

That’s why initiatives like Scottish Employability Day matter. They shine a light on the breadth of support available across Scotland and, importantly, encourage people who may not yet be connected to employability services to find out what’s out there.

There are skills sessions, CV workshops, employer insight events, jobs and careers fairs and much more happening around the country. Find out what’s happening as part of Scottish Employability Day 2026 and discover the support available near you: https://www.employabilityinscotland.com/news-events/events/

Still thinking about making a change in 2026? There’s time.

Maybe you’re ready to get back into work after a career break. Maybe you’ve got an idea for a social enterprise that just won’t go away. Or maybe you simply know you want something different, but aren’t sure what the next step looks like.

We can help.

Making Work Work – for Edinburgh Women

A free, award-winning programme to help women on a career break rebuild confidence, refresh skills and find work that fits their lives.

Ready to RISE

A free programme for women across Scotland who want to explore social enterprise, turning an idea into sustainable income while making a difference in their community.

Two different routes. One shared goal: helping you move forward. Spaces are available for both programmes on our next cohorts starting in October.

You don’t need to have it all figured out. You just need to be ready to take the first step.

Why not make 2026 the year you make your move? Get all the info and apply at makingworkwork.scot

You've probably heard of the gender pay gap, but what about the gender pension gap?

The latest DWP data shows women retiring today receive significantly less private pension income than men. A typical woman receives just over £100 a week, compared with £200 for a typical man, and 3 in 5 women aged 65+ have no private pension wealth.

Earlier this week, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) designated 2nd September as , highlighting the point in the year when, compared with men, women have effectively "run out" of pension income.

This isn't about poor financial choices. It's the result of systemic inequalities, including:

• Unpaid caring responsibilities
• Lower earnings and interrupted careers
• Expensive childcare
• A lack of flexible, secure work
• A pension system built around linear careers

While we need systemic change, there are steps you can take now:

• Find and consolidate old pensions
• Maximise employer contributions where possible
• Plan for retirement as a household
• Talk openly about money and seek advice

Retirement shouldn't depend on your gender. This , let's push for a fairer system while taking action to secure our own financial futures.