“The shame around raising a family and working full-time is real,” she said.
One working mother recounted her tale on how difficult it is to balance work and parenthood, and how US parental leave policies exacerbate the problem. In the absence of sufficient maternity leave, working mothers are often stressed and fatigued, but they are forced to continue to work in order to make ends meet.
Rachael Larsen took four years to generate the confidence to tell her tale, which she published on LinkedIn. The new mom wasn't ready to return to work full-time after taking maternity leave for 12 weeks, but she didn't have a choice. Rachael, a director of product operations at a Salt Lake City education firm, wrote in the post, “The shame around raising a family and working full-time is real.”
She posted a picture of her looking heartbroken and tearing up, taken on the first day she went back to work after her paid maternity leave ended. Her post details her struggle further, where she wrote, “I wasn’t ready. My daughter wasn’t ready. She wasn’t sleeping and was extremely fussy. I woke up five times the night before to feed her. I was exhausted.” Rachel shared that she was the major income source for her family, and was pushed to hide her feelings about this and “put on a smile as she went back to work.”
"As a majority income source for our family, I was forced to suck it up, put on a smile, and get back to work." 💔https://t.co/DyFBMRMJTJ
— Working Mother (@_workingmother_) March 3, 2021
She acknowledged that she has much more privilege than some other working moms do. “I know that I am extremely privileged. I was able to have some partial pay during my maternity leave and I was able to take 12 weeks off. I had a job that I loved at an amazing company with great bosses. I had a daycare facility that I could afford with great teachers I trusted. But… I was not ready.” She further outlines the importance of why she posted the photo, saying she feels that as a society, “We need to do more to support parents and families.” She further added, “It may have taken me four years after I knew I’d never have another baby to share this photo. But, I’m glad that I have the courage to speak my truth now.”
My maternity leave ends tomorrow and I am sad and very not ready. I wish I could do part time for awhile. 12 weeks wasn’t enough. pic.twitter.com/t4EjDP4TIo
— Amy Lasky, MD (@AmyLaskyMD) June 16, 2022
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) provides parents with a minimum of 14 weeks of paid leave, but they stipulate that the US is the only country that is an exception. "In line with both the ILO convention on maternity leave and the current EU directive on maternity leave, almost all OECD countries provide mothers with at least 14 weeks leave around childbirth; the main exception is the United States, which is the only OECD country to offer no statutory entitlement to paid leave on a national basis."
According to the Department of Labor's website, American parents are eligible for 12 weeks of maternity and paternity leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act if they: "(1) work for a covered employer, (2) work 1,250 hours during the 12 months prior to the start of leave, (3) work at a location where 50 or more employees work at that location or within 75 miles of it, and (4) have worked for the employer for 12 months."
So proud of @KateNicholl - we should not be ashamed of maternity leave it is not a holiday! We need childcare to be seen as economic infrastructure - legislation has disadvantaged long enough - when stormont is back and it will be back we will ensure a robust childcare strategy! pic.twitter.com/wi0gtiRsxZ
— Cllr Fiona Cole (@FionaCole15) October 29, 2022
References:
https://www.oecd.org/els/soc/PF2_1_Parental_leave_systems.pdf
https://www.dol.gov/general/jobs/benefits/paid-parental-leave
Cover Image Source: LinkedIn | Rachael Larsen
