MullenLowe and HeyMama, a professional networking group for mothers, have partnered to launch Momternships, a 10-week internship program designed specifically for moms who want to return to work.
Mothers have left the workforce at an alarming rate as the pandemic increased childcare issues. In 2021 there were around 10 million U.S. mothers who were not actively working, up from 2020, according to the United States Census Bureau. With this in mind, the agency wanted to spark change.
“Moms are being left behind,” said Erica Samadani, Momternship co-founder and executive director of MullenLowe PR. “I’m seeing data saying that women’s participation in the workforce is at a 30-year low. We have to step in and do something now. So, this program would have been great five years ago, but right now it’s necessary.”
The applications for the Momternship program are now open and to apply, mothers need to send in a video or a written submission, explaining they want to be a “momtern.” No experience in advertising is required to apply.
The program will start on Sept. 7, as the school year begins. The agency will hire six interns, two for each of the agency’s offices in New York, Los Angeles and Boston. The interns will be able to apply to work in one of the following areas: account management, creative, strategy, PR, operations, human resources, finance, new business, behavioral science or production.
The internship can be fully remote, hybrid, or in person, leaving the preference up to the mother. The job pays $25 an hour and interns will work on real client briefs for the agency. Weekly hours will vary for each momtern and be based on whatever works best for their schedule.
The idea to create a program specifically for mothers came to light at the beginning of the year when Kris Mangini Thompson, a freelance creative director for the agency and a co-founder of the program, shared that her experience coming back to work after having children was tough and she just wanted someone to give her a shot.
“Let's switch our mindset and stop penalizing moms for taking time away and perhaps opening the doors for all of the skills that they brought from previous experience, but also what they've learned as mothers and as parents,” Samadani said. “We don’t expect interns to have all the answers, right? So why can we not extend the same latitude to mothers?”
The agency expects to have its momterns picked out by the end of August. The goal is to hire them after the program ends and help them build connections for other opportunities. MullenLowe also wants this program to bring awareness to other agencies with hopes to inspire them to do something similar.
The agency and HeyMama created a free “Momternships Employee Toolkit,” which includes guidance and resources to help other agencies get set up to implement the program in their workplace.
“It’s so much more than just the actual physical applicants for us,” Samadani said. “It’s about sending a message to the workforce at large the value that moms bring to the workforce and the importance of flexibility, empathy and support in these conversations.”
