But Marissa Mayer’s choices as a working mother shouldn’t take away from the importance of family friendly policies says Benjamin Fletcher
According to Workingmums.co.uk's annual survey of over 2,300 mums, childcare costs are one of the main barriers stopping mums returning to work in the UK. But for Marissa Mayer, president and chief executive of Yahoo! who reportedly earns around $1m a month, I doubt this is one expense that keeps her tossing and turning at night.
Mayer recently announced that she is pregnant for a second time, expecting twins. She has been open about the fact that she intends to work up to the end of her pregnancy, and, like with her first child, will be taking just two weeks maternity leave. Organisations like the Families and Work Institute were quick to describe Mayer’s announcement as “disappointing”, adding: “She must know it’s not just a personal choice”.
She was offered some reprieve from thick criticism during her first short maternity leave only because she was then so new to the top job at the multi-billion dollar tech business. She was later praised for doubling paid maternity leave to 16 weeks across Yahoo! and offering eight weeks to fathers. This time around, the critics haven’t been so forgiving.
Many view Mayer, one of few female CEOs in the S&P 500, as having a ‘duty’ to other women and working parents. But what is that duty? Is it to conform to the gender stereotype that women and ‘good’ mothers must be the primary care-givers and stay at home, at least for the maximum maternity leave available to them? Or is it Mayer’s duty to do what is right for her and set the example that this image is not every woman?
The personal choice she has made does not take away from the importance of adequate paid parental leave and family friendly workplace policies. Working parents, both men and women, need options to balance their careers and home lives. Her openness tells other women that they too can be a working parent and still manage their career as they wish, or in a way that works best for them.
Max Schireson sent the same message to working fathers with his now viral resignation from his role as CEO at MongoDB, citing work-life balance pressures. He commented: "Friends and colleagues often ask my wife how she balances her job and motherhood. Somehow, the same people don’t ask me."
No woman should be ashamed of the fact that she has the means to make working and raising a family more manageable. It is widely reported that Mayer has had a nursery installed next to her office and no doubt has the help of at least one nanny.
The fact is, raising kids and working can be tough, not to mention expensive. But being honest about the support she needs and can afford tells everyday men and women that they are not ‘failing’ when they struggle with the juggling act of being a working parent.
Mayer is not every woman’s role model, but increasingly we ask our leaders to be authentic, to be true to themselves. Despite hefty public criticism, I think Mayer is being true to herself and therefore is fulfilling her duty as a leader and a role model. I say kudos to her.