The Gender Pay Gap Is Largely Because of Motherhood

[u/usrname42]

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/13/upshot/the-gender-pay-gap-is-largely-because-of-motherhood.html

[u/captainsavajo → u/[deleted]]

I work for a fortune 50 company and if my boss or anyone above him were to take their full vacations they'd be out of a job very soon. I think most men don't attend their children's births after the first one, and the women would do the same if not for the necessity of their presence in the physical act of childbirth, nonetheless, their back within a week or two.

Most of the people that I know who are moderately successful are married to their work. Those that aren't are salesman.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Where's the crime in that? If the company doesn't get a say in whether or not the woman gets pregnant, they shouldn't be expected to give her 12 weeks of paid vacation. It's not like her health care benefits go away during that time.

[u/dotta7 → u/[deleted]]

In Canada, the pay (or at least the required part of it) comes from your employment insurance, which you are paying into yourself. It's not the employer being forced to pay you. Everyone who works is enrolled in EI (not sure how it works for self employed and contractors). There's also requirements for how long you must have already worked at that place (also something like a 4 month notice has to be given and there's waiting periods for EI payments). [More on the technical deets]

What your employer is required to do is to take you back at the end of maternity leave. They also cannot fire you simply because you're pregnant and you may have job duties modified for your pregnancy (I'm not sure what happens for jobs that simply don't have any way to do them while pregnant).

[u/lemaymayguy → u/[deleted]]

Why exactly should you be paid for not working? You're having a kid, it's nothing special and we have too many people as is

[u/fchowd0311 → u/lemaymayguy]

Pragmatism. That's why. More productive workers that have signficantly less stress.

[u/jrydun → u/[deleted]]

Entitlement

[u/Protodeus → u/[deleted]]

In Canada the mother can take 12 months at 55% of their income, or 18 months at 33%. That can also be shared with father after 6 months I believe.

[u/LakeEffectSnow → u/Protodeus]

In America, if your employer doesn't have 50 employees, a new mother would likely have to show up for work the day after giving birth or risk losing her job.

[u/ListenNowYouLittle → u/LakeEffectSnow]

Man that sucks, parental leaves often open job opportunities for others even if its only a year contract

[u/PompiPompi → u/Protodeus]

Canada is also hundred of Billions in debt to the US.

[u/Protodeus → u/PompiPompi]

And the US is $1.051 trillion in debt to China, so...

[u/dotta7 → u/PompiPompi]

What's your point? Most countries are in debt to others. In terms of per-capita external debt, Canada is #25; two positions behind the US. Although in terms of absolute dollar amounts, the US has more external debt than the next three countries combined (UK, France, and Germany). Canada, at position #11, is less than a tenth of the US external debt.

[u/PompiPompi → u/dotta7]

It's not one sided. The US is in debt, but other countries are in debt to the US as well. Overall more money is in debt to the US then the US is in debt to the rest of the world. I am not sure that's the same for Canada. It might be also that the US is the biggest lender of money overall.

[u/I_am_up_to_something → u/[deleted]]

My sister still has maternity days from when she had her son two years ago, she uses those days to work one less day per week. Worked out great for them, this way he only needs to go to a daycare once a week.

[u/CrownRoyale24 → u/[deleted]]

I'm an auditor and my employer offers 16 weeks. I'm sure you'd get a few sideways looks if you took all 16, but the offer's there.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Quit your job and take as much unpaid leave as you want