The first big company "returnship*" programs started nearly a decade ago, but are only now catching on in larger numbers. Having been active in the career reentry space since I relaunched my own career at Bain Capital in 2001, I have the historical perspective to understand their origins and why there is now a frenzy of corporate activity focused on returning professional internships.  Recently there has been some confusion about the statistics on these programs and I want to set the record straight. 

“Returnship” program results are off the charts - 50% to 100% of women** going through these programs are getting hired, depending on the program and the year, and the more results we get as each returnship cohort completes, the more consistent these numbers are.

A twice-run study by Sylvia Ann Hewlett’s Center for Talent Innovation released in 2005 and 2010 looked at women on career break who wanted to return to work and how many were able to...