Marissa Mayer: Take longer maternity leave – for yourself and us
(Read article summary)An open letter to Marissa Mayer: Congrats on the job as Yahoo's new CEO. But maybe reconsider your plan to take only a couple of weeks of maternity leave.
Dear Ms. Mayer: Congratulations on your new gig as CEO of Yahoo. Congratulations, too, on your other big news – your pregnancy. Congratulations as well on provoking many of us mothers out there who otherwise would have preferred to stay out of the “Mommy Wars.”
I have been loath to join the debate about whether women can have it all. But Ms. Mayer, you gave me no choice. How could I possibly stay mum after you told Fortune you were expecting your first child in October and you prefer to “stay in the rhythm of things.” Hence, you said, “My maternity leave will be a few weeks long and I’ll work throughout it.”
Those words at first made me seethe. Then, they made me sad for what you will miss if you focus more on work than on the first weeks, let alone months, of motherhood. Not to mention, what about the physical recovery time many mothers need after childbirth? Two weeks is nothing. Your body, believe me, will feel a lot different after delivery.
Page 1 of 4
