As the Women’s Pavilion at Expo City Dubai launches Sama, Women’s Pavilion Head Maha Gorton explains why supporting women through career breaks and transitions has become an increasingly important part of the workplace conversation.

Taking a career break does not mean leaving ambition behind. Yet for many women, returning to the workplace after time away can be surprisingly difficult. Experience and skills may still be there, but confidence, networks and workplace expectations can shift. The Women’s Pavilion at Expo City Dubai saw this through its Return to Work programme, which was created to support women looking to relaunch their careers after a break.

Now, those learnings have shaped Sama, a new year-round platform designed to support women at different stages of their professional lives.

“We chose the name Sama for our platform for women’s career development because it means ‘sky’ in Arabic, which felt right for what we wanted it to represent: openness, ambition and the idea that growth shouldn’t have a ceiling,” says Maha Gorton, Head of Women’s Pavilion, Expo City Dubai.

“So many women we’ve met through our Return to Work programme carry incredible experience and ambition but need the right community and tools around them to build on that experience with confidence.”

That need can take many forms. Career breaks may follow motherhood, relocation, caring responsibilities or a change in personal circumstances. Returning can mean rebuilding professional networks, adapting to new technology and recruitment practices, and sometimes questioning where you now fit.

Therese Cilliers experienced this after a two-year career break following a move to Abu Dhabi. Despite an established career in finance, she found returning challenging.

“Especially in a new environment, there was a lot of self-doubt,” she says. “Realising I wasn’t alone and being part of a like-minded community via the Return to Work programme was a game changer.” Cilliers now works as a fractional CFO through the CFO Centre UAE.

Around a third of the first Return to Work cohort are now in full-time employment, while 10 per cent are pursuing entrepreneurship or freelance work.

Sama will build on that programme while broadening its scope. From early 2027, free skills sessions will cover areas such as interview preparation, AI and workplace technologies and financial literacy, alongside digital learning and greater engagement with employers.

But the larger conversation goes beyond returning to work. “Sama is our answer to that,” Gorton says. “It’s for women at every stage of their careers who want to keep growing, exploring what’s next and reaching for more.”

Careers are not always linear. They pause, change direction and evolve. Creating workplaces and support systems that recognise that reality could be just as important as helping women return to them in the first place.

Registrations for the second Return to Work cohort are open until September 27, 2026.