I was listening to the radio on my way home last night. The DJs were talking about how Sarah Palin went back to work three days after giving birth. The more I listened, the more enraged I became by this topic.
Sarah Palin's job is running the State of Alaska. I bet if you called up Manpower and said "um, hi, I'll need a temp position filled for six to eight weeks...a governor...that's right...runs the state...oh, you don't have anyone...okay, thanks. We'll give GovernorTemps a call."
As governor, she was able to take her son to work with her. How many jobs allow you that kind of freedom and flexibility? For the ones who decry her for accepting the Vice President position, think about how it allows her to bring issues such as Down's Syndrome, teen pregnancy, and working mothers to the forefront.
While we're on the subject, instead of vilifying her for going back to work so quickly, we could turn this into something positive - I don't know, say, focusing on better maternity and family leave benefits for US workers? The average company allows six weeks for maternity leave. You might get paid for part of it, depending on if you have any vacation or sick time to use. Otherwise, your time might be unpaid unless you've been with the company X amount of years. If your company is different, then you are lucky.
When I had Maddy, I went back to work after four weeks. I had two weeks of paid vacation/sick time that I hadn't used. The other two weeks were unpaid. In order to get six weeks paid leave, I needed to have worked there five years. I'd been there for four. We needed both paychecks, so I couldn't afford to stay home any longer. We were lucky that I didn't need a c-section and that Maddy was healthy. It would have been a financial crisis otherwise.
Finally, to quote Elias McDaniel (as sung by Eric Clapton), "before you accuse me, take a look at yourself." If you were running for public office, what would be found in your past? What life choices have you made that might be fodder for the polictical pundits?
/end rant/
9 comments:
OMG I love you. Excellently put.
I have inhaled and I liked it. :)
Great point about focusing on the issues, such as FMLA. Hillary had the absolute best plan for that. Obama's is a close second.
:0)
You rant anytime you want to
Seriously, I love you :)
I think my sociopathic ex-husband would definitely come out of the woodwork if I was in the public eye, getting his $$ for a tell-all :)
Nice rant. I'm with you on that one!
Bravo. I've been beating this drum for a while now. When people criticize Palin for working while mothering, they implicitly criticize all working mothers.
That said, I am disappointed that her experience as a working mother does not seem to have motivated her to support paid maternity leave.
I don't agree with one thing Palin stands for but I absolutely support her in any choices she has made as a working mother. I admire her for her ability to juggle work and family, I just wish she was more in tune with womens issues.
AMEN!!!
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