Long gone are the days of a predictable, linear career where the premise was as simple as the promise: work hard, and you’ll be rewarded with an upward climb to the top of the career ladder.

The world of work has fundamentally changed, and that means that disruption is frequent, career stability is scarce and challenges are pretty much guaranteed. Boston Consulting Group states that in the next two to three years, more than 50% of jobs will be reshaped by AI. 79% of workers say they’re more likely to accept a new job than they were a year ago and 66% have changed or considered changing career fields, according to a 2026 State of the Workplace Report by FlexJobs.

Whereas pre-pandemic, staying in the same role or industry, or even at the same company for many years was standard, career pivots are not only commonplace now, they’re necessary. 12 million occupational shifts are expected in the United States by 2030, McKinsey & Company predicts .

And career changes impact more women than men, research reveals. According to McKinsey, “Women are projected to be 50 percent more likely than men to have to switch occupations by 2030. Globally, 40 million to 160 million women may need to transition in this time frame.”

So to understand why we’re seeing more career shifts affecting women now, and how they can reinvent their careers after a major setback, I spoke to trauma-informed leadership coach and author of Worthy To Be Me , Bhavya Gaur.

Why Women Are Reinventing Their Careers

In the last few years alone, the workplace has gone through immense flux. During the pandemic, more women than men were forced out of the workplace to fulfill caregiving and remote learning duties, and many didn’t come back to the workforce, which has only deepened the gender pay gap. The Great Resignation saw even more women, particularly in leadership roles, leaving their jobs due to pandemic related burnout and lack of flexibility with childcare. Since then, mass layoffs and AI-related redundancies have caused even further disruption to stable career trajectories.

“We’re not just seeing career pivots, we’re in the era of women’s identity recalibration,” said Gaur. “A woman who has spent years delivering, adapting and absorbing more than her fair share doesn’t walk away from her career impulsively. She reaches a point where she can no longer ignore what doesn’t feel right,” she explained.

“Over 455,000 women exited the U.S. workforce between January and August 2025 – the largest exodus in over 40 years – not from a lack of ambition, but from structural pressures they were no longer willing to endure. The career pivot is the culmination: the moment a woman stops abandoning herself to stay successful on someone else’s terms,” said Gaur.

There are many reasons why women are choosing to reinvent their careers after big setbacks like layoffs, or burnout. A recent survey by Catalyst found that 42% of women who left their jobs did so due to caregiving responsibilities, including the cost of childcare. A lack of schedule flexibility and dissatisfaction with compensation were also big factors for women who quit their jobs.

How Career Setbacks Impact Working Women

Beyond voluntarily leaving a job, women are experiencing challenges and obstacles that are leaving them with no other choice than to pivot their careers in search of a new path.

“A career setback is never just professional for women – it’s personal, psychological, emotional, identity-based and cuts deep. When you’ve spent years proving your value, outperforming, and showing up fully, yet are passed over, laid off, or have your role quietly rescoped, it doesn’t just disrupt your career; it tarnishes your sense of self,” said Gaur.

Sohini Banerjee is a chef working in the hospitality sector, who got her start as a hostess at a restaurant, hoping it would open doors into a professional kitchen. But rather than being supported, Banerjee endured an unhealthy work environment that pushed her to the point of quitting.

“The objectification was routine; odd comments about my appearance were commonplace, and my interest in the food and the kitchen was consistently dismissed,” she said. “Any time I demonstrated knowledge or ambition, it was met with condescension. There was a clear assumption that I wasn’t capable of contributing beyond front-of-house. The environment became increasingly untenable, and that role came to an end in a way that left me seriously questioning whether the industry had space for someone like me.”

That experience had a lasting impact on Banerjee.

“My confidence took a real knock and when you’re repeatedly told, directly or indirectly, that you're not credible or capable, you start to internalize it. I absolutely did. But underneath the self-doubt was something stronger: a frustration with how female aspiring chefs are perceived, and a genuine desire to change that narrative. It made me want to rebuild my confidence around food entirely on my own terms, rather than trying to fit into spaces that didn't value me. That experience lit a fire in me to challenge the norms and build something for myself.”

It took a lot of internal work and grit for Banerjee to transform that early career experience into entrepreneurship. And she’s not alone.

Beth Thomas, co-founder of social media consultancy Slice, left her job at TikTok to help build an exciting startup from the ground up – but it ended up buried underground.

“Less than a year in, it ended abruptly when the financial controller misappropriated funds, leaving the business insolvent,” said Thomas. “Everyone lost their jobs, completely out of nowhere. It went from one of the most exciting roles of my career to having no job overnight. It was a brutal reminder that even when you’re doing everything right, some things are completely out of your control.”

She describes feelings of sadness, frustration, and anger. But ultimately the setback led her to explore entrepreneurship. “I went from employee to business owner almost by accident, it was never the plan. I’d always assumed I’d build my career inside big brands, but that experience showed me how quickly you can grow when you’re forced out of the comfortable path,” she said.

How To Reinvent Your Career After A Setback

If you’re experiencing a particularly challenging time in your career, Gaur offered 6 practical techniques to help manage a professional shift.

1. Do A Values Audit, Not Just A Skills Inventory

Define your non-negotiables. Think about the environment you need, the impact

you want and what you are no longer available for. Then write down your top 5 values and audit your current or last role against them to create clarity on your career-values alignment.

2. Translate Your Transferable Story

You are not starting over – you are bringing everything forward. Skills, wisdom, and lived experience extend far beyond a job title. Reframe your experience into transferable value through ‘I did X, which resulted in Y’ statements to tell your story as your strongest asset in interviews and networking conversations.

3. Build The Bridge Before Burning The Boat

Reinvention doesn’t have to be reckless or loud to be powerful. Taking a course, sharing your voice on LinkedIn, attending events, and having real conversations in the space you’re moving toward builds the bridge that allows you to move confidently. Visibility built quietly can make your pivot land with power.

4. Work With A Coach Who Goes Beyond Strategy

Updating your skills without updating your self-concept will keep you recreating the same dynamic in a new environment. The most powerful transformations happen when inner work and outer action move together, so find support that shifts how you see yourself, not just what you do.

5. Redesign Your Network With Intention

Your next opportunity will likely come through a conversation, not an application. Identify 5-10 people working in the space you want to move into and connect with genuine curiosity, and generosity.

6. Run A 90-Day Reinvention Sprint

Structure creates safety when things feel uncertain. Commit to a focused sprint for your reinvention, starting with your inner work:

  • Weeks 1-2: Values clarity and inner work
  • Month 1: Research, exploration, and informational conversations
  • Month 2: Skill-building and visible proof of your new direction
  • Month 3: Active outreach, applications, or launching

Reinventing your career after a setback doesn’t happen all at once, Gaur reminded me. It happens through consistent, intentional steps that build evidence and confidence over time.