Do I mention mat leave on Linked In?

[MaggieFS]

I work for a large corporation and tend to move assignments every couple of years anyway. I've seen mat leave covered two ways on people's profiles' either

A)
2015 - 2017 role abc
2017-2018 leave/break/time off or similar wording
2018 - present role xyz

B)
2015 - 2018 role abc
2018 - present role xyz
With no mention of maternity leave/ time off

I would of course be clear on a CV and have no problem being open in an interview, should I get there, so I don't want to lie but also don't want to be discounted for having a young family.

Is there a correct way of doing this?

Were you employed during maternity leave? If so just don’t mention, it, it’s continuous employment and not relevant.

I only ever look at the period not the dates eg 1 year, 10 year etc

You don't need to mention it on either. You were continuously employed during your mat leave; it was part of your time in a given role. There is no need nor obligation to discuss it.

If you weren’t employed either leave a gap or put “planned career break”

Huh? You were still employed/an employee so absolutely no need to mention it on LinkedIn or CV.

Don’t mention it. Why would you?

And it’s not a lie — it’s just that it’s not necessary or relevant

Never mentioned it at all, unless you were out of employment and looking after children full time. You remain employed during mat leave.

If you were still employed during your mat leave you don’t mention it! Otherwise everyone would mention every period of sickness on their CV, or each of their three week annual leaves for example!

I took an extended maternity leave - it's not mentioned in my CV or LinkedIn at all. It wouldn't occur to me to put it on there.

I don't even put my maternity leave on my CV...why would I? I was still technically employed in that role

Yes, I was continuously employed, but looking at colleagues and how they describe what they've been doing, most describe the assignments they've done so there's an update every couple of years. People aren't just saying, for example, Finance Manager at xxx company since 2015.

I would prefer not to mention the mat leave so publicly, but don't want to be disingenuous by implying I've continued in an assignment once I'd started mat leave and someone else was in the role.

Sorry, to add, it's such a large company and I've been there so long I think I really do need to mention the breadth of assignments I've done and the progression, so it isn't an option to just say 'Finance Manager at xxx since 2015'. I think I do need to give the breakdown and would be doing myself a disservice not to.

Bollocks to that. If you were employed, and your job title was, "finance manager", the fact that you were on maternity leave is entirely irrelevant and under no condition should you reference it. The only time maternity leave might be relevant is in interview if you're in a revenue generating role and your'e asked for specific figures for a year when you don't have them because you were on maternity leave. But that's a very very specific situation and definitely not linked.

It's different if you take a career break to care for small children, but that's a separate issue entirely.

Don't mention on either LinkedIn or CV.
Its not lying, and you don't need to update LinkedIn every six months. I've been doing the same job for five years and so it just says 2018 - current xx manager.

No need to tell people you are a parent as its not relevant and may lead to discrimination, even unintentionally.

@MaggieFS

Sorry, to add, it's such a large company and I've been there so long I think I really do need to mention the breadth of assignments I've done and the progression, so it isn't an option to just say 'Finance Manager at xxx since 2015'. I think I do need to give the breakdown and would be doing myself a disservice not to.

But you can still do that, without mentioning mat leave eg:

Company name 2012 - present
2012 - 2014: Finance Manager, IT department. Team of xx people. Key achievements.
2014-2015: Finance Manager, R&D. Team of xx people. Key achievements.
2016-2019: Finance Manager, seconded to client xx. Team size, key achievements.
2020-present: Finance manager, Office of CEO, key achievements.

The fact that in 2017 and 2020 you were on maternity leave is irrelevant.

@MaggieFS

Sorry, to add, it's such a large company and I've been there so long I think I really do need to mention the breadth of assignments I've done and the progression, so it isn't an option to just say 'Finance Manager at xxx since 2015'. I think I do need to give the breakdown and would be doing myself a disservice not to.

I worked on a lot of different projects; I just grouped them together by topic without dates.

Yes what @Triffid1 said.

I am pregnant and will always list it as B.

I hate on linkedin when people write Finance Director, Mommy, Homemaker

I no more need to know you have children than i need to know if you are into cosplay or are a non-binary pansexual

Thank you all. Good (but disappointing) to see the consensus is not to mention mat leaves.

@Triffid1 yes, that's a very good précis. Exactly how it is. Thank you.

It's very tricky because for two of the years I haven't even set foot in the office but I know I need to be a tad ballsy on this rather than too honest from the outset.

No way, I have had 3 maternity leaves and would never dream of putting it out there, it my private life. No one puts on their CV/LinkedIn that they’ve had a period of sickness absence or a sabbatical so why should we make a thing about maternity leave. IMO LinkedIn is full of over sharers!

My LinkedIn profile is like Triffid suggests, and highlights my progress through my profession (law) without needing to say I spent time out having 3 babies as that was a fraction of the time I have spent in my career. I wonder whether a man would feel compelled to include paternity?

@MaggieFS

Thank you all. Good (but disappointing) to see the consensus is not to mention mat leaves.

@Triffid1 yes, that's a very good précis. Exactly how it is. Thank you.

It's very tricky because for two of the years I haven't even set foot in the office but I know I need to be a tad ballsy on this rather than too honest from the outset.

I really think you need to shift your mindset. It is not dishonest not to talk about maternity leave. It would only be dishonest if you claimed successes that had been achieved by the person who covered you on maternity leave.

Except possibly in the first couple of years of your career, the exact number of years you've been sitting at your desk is irrelevant. What's relevant is how you have performed, what you have learnt, and what you have achieved. Otherwise, every organization would promote people at exactly the same moment in their careers.

Women are already penalised enough in that inevitably, taking time out for maternity leave means that, as per my comment above, they may not be promoted as quickly because they aren't there to make that big new deal or learn that important new skill or do the endless networking. There is no need to further disadvantage yourself by highlighting this.

Are you looking for a new job? Otherwise I'm not sure of the relevance of putting it on social media like LinkedIn (that's just what it is really).

Save it for your proper CV.