“I think self-trust is the foundation of ambition. It’s the ability to make decisions that are truly in line with what you value and trust your ability to see them through. A lot of the work I did to launch Mother Untitled, (now THE POWER PAUSE) came with having to let go of what other people thought. And that’s a muscle you have to flex in Motherhood over and over,” said Neha Ruch, Best Selling Author and Entrepreneur.
Following a prescribed path in our careers is typically rewarded until we have kids. Neha’s journey is a masterclass in breaking with the unwritten rules of ambition. And creating structure to transform career pauses or shifts into powerful containers for reflection and fulfillment.
Most Career Pauses Aren’t Permanent
Neha’s been on a mission to retire the dated stereotypes of what “working” versus “stay-at-home” motherhood means for ambitious women. And with the rise of fractional, part-time, hybrid and remote work, there are more professional flavors to choose from.
She commissioned a research study and learned, “One in 3 American women are considering a career pause in the next two years. And one in two women are considering a career downshift in the same period. Ninety percent of the women currently on a career pause aim to return to the paid workforce.”
Many Women are Forced Off of the Ladder
When a mother exits paid work or shifts from a demanding role into something more flexible, we don’t always see the full picture. Some professional moves are in response to layoffs, terminations or demotions. Workplace bias for mothers and pregnant women remains quite common, in part because women are still on the wrong end of the wage and leadership gaps.
Neha said 1/3 of women feel forced to pause with 60% of those citing the cost of childcare. Whatever circumstances precede a career break or transition, you still have choices. Including being intentional about honoring self-care and personal growth. In concert with caring for family and navigating what’s next.
Know that a Shift or Pause Can Serve You
Neha explained that moving her idea into a movement, book and now platform, took 9 years and wasn’t linear. However, she maintained a commitment to her vision and values. She said, “When I had my first child, I knew I wanted more time with him and to soak up Motherhood. I was really interested in it, and I hadn’t been that interested in my paid work for a while. I didn’t choose to pause my career or downshift at that time because I thought it was better for my child, I really did it because it was better for me.”
You Can Shift to More Flexible Work Without Pausing
Neha said, “What worked for me in that first year or two was to downshift to two days a week. I got a part-time role to test how this was going to feel because, at the time I was hearing a lot of commentary. Like, ‘why are you giving up?’ or ‘you’re going to be bored all day.’ And while I felt pretty clear I wasn’t going to be bored, I also still wanted to feel connected to my finances and work. A career pause isn’t a career ender and there are a handful of different ways to think about navigating a transition.”
You May be Able to Negotiate Flexibility with Your Current Employer
A pause is not the only alternative. Neha said, “To start, explore all the options with your hiring manager and figure out what you’re optimizing for. Sometimes, it’s about having more time and sometimes it’s about less stress. If so, you may want to give up some managerial duties or move to a different caseload.”
She also explained you can exit a job and nurture your relationships there for possible reentry in the future. “I walk through the scripts and steps in the book but at a high level, the idea is to network as you’re leaving, because you want to preserve your options.”
Determine if a Full Career Pause Suits Your Needs
Neha explained that working part-time at first, helped her feel confident about her move into a full career pause later. “About a year and a half into that I thought, ‘I’m really curious about this other thing’ because I already had the thesis for Mother Untitled. And I was starting to plant the seeds for it. When I thought, ‘okay, I think I’m ready’ my husband’s work was dialing up, he was traveling every other week and we financially mapped it out. Based on a number of different circumstances, the next year we made a different choice.”
Figure Out What Works Financially
Neha said, “Even if this is a financial no brainer for your family, have conversations with your partner. Ensure you’re both aligned with making the shift and budgeting together. Don’t sit there and think, ‘to make this work I’m going to stop getting my hair cut professionally.’ You need to believe, ‘we’re going to make these shifts because this is important to our family right now.’ By the way, this is also the time you get to decide it’s an interdependent household.”
If You Choose a Pause, Reflect On Your New Contributions
Why yes, we all know that career success for any parent or caregiver doesn’t exist in isolation and having the choice to pause typically is reserved for two-income households. Neha explained there has be an acknowledgement that the partner working out of the home for pay, is also dependent on the person working in the home. “Then you can step into this next phase feeling like, ‘I’m contributing, I have value and deserve support’ and that’s a big piece.”
React to the Data and Make Changes Over Time
Neha said, “A lot of this relies on just accepting there are going to be years where you’re recalibrating more often than not. I always think seasonally with kids, especially once your kids get a little bit older and go to school.” She’s learned to trust her inner guidance and pay attention to changing conditions and needs. Including when she shifted from one child to two.
“There are moments in the year where you will sense, ‘okay the family has to come back together. And figure out what works.’ It’s important to know that as you move through this process, you’re assembling data and proof that you do know best. And even when it’s not perfectly right, you can adjust over and over again.”
Use Your Pause as a Springboard for Your Goals
Neha’s movement became a business which includes a marketplace with flexible jobs and access to experts. She said, “Right now, I continue to see the POWER PAUSE as a platform for cultural change. And I’m squarely in what I call the gray area. The vast in between of those black and white ideas of ‘stay at home’ and ‘working mother’ which isn’t a balance, it’s more of a blend. It’s smudgy and it looks a little bit different every day. But I’m grateful for the flexibility to do work I care about in a way that allows me to make room for family life.”
Many thanks to the talented Neha Ruch!
Check out her delightful book: The POWER PAUSE: How to Plan a Career Break After Kids and Come Back Stronger Than Ever and follow her great adventure on her website, Instagram and Linked In.
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About Neha:
Neha Ruch is the thought leader who rebranded stay-at-home motherhood for a new generation of ambitious women — providing the language, vision, and validation to see time in family life not as a detour, but as a powerful, enriching chapter. As the founder of Mother Untitled, the leading platform for women embracing career pauses to focus on family, Neha has catalyzed a cultural shift: reframing motherhood with dignity, ambition, and intention.
Now, that mission continues under a bold new banner: THE POWER PAUSE. With a growing audience of hundreds of thousands, Neha is a sought-after speaker, influencer, and commentator on the intersection of women, work, parenting, and identity. Her transformative insights have ignited a national conversation — one that celebrates the pause not as time off, but as time deeply on purpose.
After 10 years working in Brand Strategy and receiving her MBA from Stanford, Neha decided to pause her career after the birth of her second child. She quickly encountered outdated stereotypes associated with being a stay-at-home mother — stereotypes that seemed more fitting to a bygone era than her own experience or the modern women she was meeting. She became determined to create the world’s first collective of ambitious women on career pauses — or downshifts — to reshape the narrative around stay-at-home motherhood and give visibility to the gray area within which many women find themselves during a pause from traditional work outside the home.
Her book, “THE POWER PAUSE: How to Plan a Career Break After Kids – and Come Back Stronger Than Ever” was an instant USA Today bestseller, named one of Oprah Daily’s top self-help books for 2025 and published with Putnam, Penguin Random House in January 2025. Neha lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan with her husband, their two children, and their dog Coconut.
