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Pregnancy Discrimination Is Rampant Inside America’s Biggest Companies

nytimes.com

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Re: Pregnancy Discrimination Is Rampant Inside America’s Biggest Companies

#2
One of the solutions to this is matching paternity leave.

If I gave you the choice of two employees, one of whom would take 12 weeks of paid leave and one who would take 2 weeks of paid leave, which would you choose?

If you offered both sexes 12 weeks of paid leave, you wouldn't have to make this decision.

Re: Pregnancy Discrimination Is Rampant Inside America’s Biggest Companies

#3

One of the solutions to this is matching paternity leave. If I gave you the choice of two employees, one of whom would take 12 weeks of paid leave and one who would take 2 weeks of paid leave, which would you choose? If you offered both sexes 12 weeks of paid leave, you wouldn't have to make this decision.

I agree completely. I think this effect of paternity leave is under appreciated by men and greatly feared by employers.

I can understand how an employer gets concerned about an employee being gone for 3 or 4 months and whether or not they admit it selecting/biasing against that possibility in hiring rather than just figuring out how to deal with it.

Re: Pregnancy Discrimination Is Rampant Inside America’s Biggest Companies

#4

One of the solutions to this is matching paternity leave. If I gave you the choice of two employees, one of whom would take 12 weeks of paid leave and one who would take 2 weeks of paid leave, which would you choose? If you offered both sexes 12 weeks of paid leave, you wouldn't have to make this decision.

Wouldn't be enough. So many women choose not to come back to work full-time. It's a huge waste to train them, and very dangerous to move them up the corporate ladder.

Re: Pregnancy Discrimination Is Rampant Inside America’s Biggest Companies

#5

One of the solutions to this is matching paternity leave. If I gave you the choice of two employees, one of whom would take 12 weeks of paid leave and one who would take 2 weeks of paid leave, which would you choose? If you offered both sexes 12 weeks of paid leave, you wouldn't have to make this decision.

I believe this is the path forward, as well. Using your example above in a gender-blind scenario, I can't imagine a scenario where a hiring manager would't choose the potential employee who would only take 2 weeks leave.

Re: Pregnancy Discrimination Is Rampant Inside America’s Biggest Companies

#6

One of the solutions to this is matching paternity leave. If I gave you the choice of two employees, one of whom would take 12 weeks of paid leave and one who would take 2 weeks of paid leave, which would you choose? If you offered both sexes 12 weeks of paid leave, you wouldn't have to make this decision.

You'd have to make it mandatory leave. The social pressure is still tilted towards women as care givers and men as providers so more men will end up not using the leave. If it becomes mandatory then it's just a baked in rising to every employee, _and_ will probably do better for society to have both parents get time with their children.

I believe some European states solve this by having the state cover ~60% of your wage while on leave so that it's not a giant burden for companies

Re: Pregnancy Discrimination Is Rampant Inside America’s Biggest Companies

#7

One of the solutions to this is matching paternity leave. If I gave you the choice of two employees, one of whom would take 12 weeks of paid leave and one who would take 2 weeks of paid leave, which would you choose? If you offered both sexes 12 weeks of paid leave, you wouldn't have to make this decision.

I don't think this is practical because many men do not take their full paternity leave. For biological reasons alone, the woman needs to take more.

Re: Pregnancy Discrimination Is Rampant Inside America’s Biggest Companies

#8

One of the solutions to this is matching paternity leave. If I gave you the choice of two employees, one of whom would take 12 weeks of paid leave and one who would take 2 weeks of paid leave, which would you choose? If you offered both sexes 12 weeks of paid leave, you wouldn't have to make this decision.

Not to mention the whole idea that a child only needs to see their mother and not their father is flawed.

Re: Pregnancy Discrimination Is Rampant Inside America’s Biggest Companies

#9

One of the solutions to this is matching paternity leave. If I gave you the choice of two employees, one of whom would take 12 weeks of paid leave and one who would take 2 weeks of paid leave, which would you choose? If you offered both sexes 12 weeks of paid leave, you wouldn't have to make this decision.

I guess I'll be making damn sure to negotiate a pay raise based on the fact I've chosen not to have children!

Where do I sign to veto my paternity leave?

Re: Pregnancy Discrimination Is Rampant Inside America’s Biggest Companies

#10
post #7

One of the solutions to this is matching paternity leave. If I gave you the choice of two employees, one of whom would take 12 weeks of paid leave and one who would take 2 weeks of paid leave, which would you choose? If you offered both sexes 12 weeks of paid leave, you wouldn't have to make this decision.

I don't think this is practical because many men do not take their full paternity leave. For biological reasons alone, the woman needs to take more.

You could simply make it mandatory time off. But either way, he has a point. A company doesn't want to risk hiring someone that might miss a huge swath of time, for any reason. Not in every job but in many jobs, an employee isn't just an employee, they are an investment. If it was mandatory for both sexes though, it would level the playing field.
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