another psychology or psychiatry thread... w/ twist

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I agree with you but only to a point. Not every school/work situation involves a zero sum game, in those instances I see no problem with giving new mothers extra allowances. Having a baby and being allowed to make up work after the current semester is over IS being treated differently, but it doesn't take away from other students or disadvantage them in any way.

Likewise if a flexible schedule can be enacted without substantially dumping on others I don't see a problem with it. Unfortunately it doesn't sound like that happened in your case and I don't think people should have to work 20 hrs extra a week to pick up slack.

I am all for giving parents (not just mothers) flexibility to the extent that it does not affect other people. Unfortunately, flexibility IS a zero sum game in some employment situations. I am sure there are many cases where it is not. It really depends on the work environment.

Are you suggesting that there is some threshold where other workers should be expected to "pick up slack" for mothers?

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I am all for giving parents (not just mothers) flexibility to the extent that it does not affect other people. Unfortunately, flexibility IS a zero sum game in some employment situations. I am sure there are many cases where it is not. It really depends on the work environment.

Are you suggesting that there is some threshold where other workers should be expected to "pick up slack" for mothers?

Unless companies hire on someone during an employees maternity leave then we already have institutionalized picking up slack for mothers. I agree with you that once the leave is over there shouldn't be requirements or "strong suggestions" that other people continue to pick up the slack for parents in the zero sum situations you refer to.
 
It's so interesting to me that there is so much pressure on mothers to make a career and motherhood work in these zero sums terms. Would this be more expected in a society that doesn't value children? Or having a future? It's like placing all this pressure on individual women to produce, but society as a whole gets to benefit from getting a new generation. So weird...
 
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Unless companies hire on someone during an employees maternity leave then we already have institutionalized picking up slack for mothers. I agree with you that once the leave is over there shouldn't be requirements or "strong suggestions" that other people continue to pick up the slack for parents in the zero sum situations you refer to.

I am speaking specifically about after maternity leave and an employee is back to work "full time."

For instance (made up), let's say a clinic needs coverage from 7 AM to 5 PM. Worker A, upon returning from maternity leave, has negotiated working from 9-3 PM to save on daycare costs and minimize her commute time. Worker B is expected to be there from 7-5 to provide coverage. In the past, worker A and worker B staggered their schedules such that one came in earlier and left earlier and the other came later and stayed later. They are still paid the same.

In any situation where people in equivalent posts are held to a different standard, there are going to be issues. In my case the inequity was a lot more extreme than this situation I made up.
 
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It's so interesting to me that there is so much pressure on mothers to make a career and motherhood work in these zero sums terms. Would this be more expected in a society that doesn't value children? Or having a future? It's like placing all this pressure on individual women to produce, but society as a whole gets to benefit from getting a new generation. So weird...

I wouldn't forget about the spouse or partner. It is a choice to have children, and when you have two parents, it is a choice about how to divvy up these responsibilities. When my wife and I have kids, we have already agreed that I'll be doing more parent duties because her career has better earning potential and she loves it.
 
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