Babes On Bay Street

QWhat is the real management perspective on longer maternity leave?

The question posed for one of the Babes was: “Do you think that taking a longer maternity leave is considered a drawback by employers/bosses, even if they say that it’s not?”

 

Linda Hohol responded to this question and she said:

 

“I think it is very dependent on the employer and the culture of the organization…for example, many law firms are still not very good at allowing extended maternity leave and as such, it could hurt your chances of making partner. You need to carefully assess this before you make your decision to extend maternity leave. Of course, you will likely be told “it’s ok”. But underneath that politically correct answer, you need to understand what is really going on and how you and your decision will be viewed.

 

It will also depend on where you are in your career eg are you on the fastrack, did you recently receive a promotion with increased responsibility, how will your job be filled while you are gone? etc etc…timing is everything!

 

But ultimately you have to weigh the pros and cons and do what is best for you. I tell young women that if you want to combine a career and family, you will have to make some tough decisions and choices over your life time. You can’t “have it all at one time” but you can “have it all over the course of your life.” But there will be trade-offs.