We just celebrated Mother’s Day in the United States and I’ll admit that it isn’t my favorite holiday. I lost my mother to an incredibly heroic battle with pancreatic cancer about six years ago and so the barrage of emails, advertisements, and grocery store reminders about remembering moms is a little much to take. This year, though, I started thinking more about how I could honor the legacy of a wonderful woman all days of the year and not just on the second Sunday in May. And then, on a larger scale, I thought about how we as a country and a culture need to do a better job of respecting, supporting, and honoring the incredible work that moms do (we extend that to anyone who does the work of mothering).
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Maternity leave is, at this point, an outdated and insufficient benefit to employees. In fact, the United States is the only developed country without a law instituting paid family leave. Most women think that taking maternity leave is a risky choice for their careers and continued promotion. At this point, tech companies are leading the way in terms of far more progressive and equitable family leave policies. And, since extended, flexible, fully-funded family leaves are strongly associated with women’s career advancement, this week’s roundup offers a few resources to help education organization and leaders think about – or rethink – paid family leave.
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