Background: Yahoo sucks. They've had many CEOs in the last year and are failing. So they bring in Marissa Meyer who worked at Google to save their sinking ship. Yay flags all around at Yahoo, they will overcome! Then Marissa Meyer says "I has a case of teh baybez" and now everyone is all "can she do it?" "will Yahoo be doomed". Her plan is to work until delivery and through part of her maternity leave.
The more I read and hear about this all, it just pisses me off. I'm a working mother (obviously) and I'm happy to do so. I'm a better mother because I work. On the other hand, it's hard as hell (like when you get a call from daycare that your kid is sick and your sitting in an airport across the country). It's what I've chosen and we make it work. I'm very lucky to have a supportive family.
THere are several things about her situation that bother me:
1. She has far more resources to do what she's doing. Financially, she can afford to have nannies and people cater to her. She won't have to worry about waking up and making sure she has enough time to get breakfast, pump (if she chooses), get dressed, etc. She can afford to have a team of people help her with tasks if she chooses. Most women don't have access to that. Low-cost, quality day care is hard to come by for many people.
2. She has the ability to work where and when she wants. If she wants to work from home, I'm pretty certain Yahoo would do that. Again, most women who work don't have that luxury.
3. It sets an unrealistic expectation. I wish more mothers and fathers would put their foot down and say "No, I will leave at 5 pm today because I value my family". And this shouldn't mean that you shift the responsibilities on to the childless- it means employers need to be realistic about everyone's work load and ensure that you aren't asking to move mountains. I'm fine with stepping up and helping out extra when needed, but I"m not going to sacrifice my family to do so. It's not fair. It should not have to be that if you want to succeed or move higher, you sacrifice one for another.
I will fully admit that part of my irritation is that I would like to have another child but I can't see that working withmy current career. FMLA aside (which let's be real- FMLA is a joke), there is nothing in our corporate policies for working mothers of infants. I can't even fathom the logistics of trying to pump milk and breastfeed while being gone 2-3 days a week, every month. I can't leave DH to care for 2 kids (one an infant) every few days and expect him to work. I love the company I work for, and I know that this would be a problem no matter where I went to work given my current job.
So thoughts? I'm happy to see another female CEO but it just seems like a step back.