If personal experience is anything to go by, the glass ceiling for women in the workplace, has never actually gone away, but a new study by a women in the work place watch dog is warning that it is getting worse; women in the UK, they say, are getting the short end of the stick if they want/decide to have children while working. The research has led the experts to conclude that women may want to re-think either that desire for motherhood OR reconsider their professional goals, as these two do not work well together, at least according to a significanat number of employers.
I just don't think this is really news, but apparently there are so many professional women out there balancing - or trying to - work and home, it is more profound a struggle than ever before. The reason for the recent study, though, is that we have now the most generous maternal leave ever, with a full year dictated by the law. The draw back is that now employers are more and more reluctant to hire or at least to promote women they think may get pregnant; this liberal leave policy, dictated by law, can be a real pain for businesses.
Though there are plenty of sympathetic ears, there are also A LOT of people who say "if you want a career, have it. If you want children, have them. But no double dipping."
Given the numbers - women who work and have children and are married, still do 97% of the housework and that stat holds true with kiddo illness; women who work are still 97% more likely to stay at home with a sick child, versus only 3% of men - perhaps these businesses are only protecting their own interests. Either way, this debate has raged for years, and is unlikely to go away. Add the fact that the majority of students studying in fields like medicine are women, it seems likely this debate will rage on.
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