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@pinkcupcake: I am very aware I am making assumptions and have continuously admitted so. I just think personally he is saying one thing and doing another - yet receiving no scrutiny for it simply because he is saying what everyone wants to hear.
@Foodnerd81: She actually did acknowledge that she has loads of help - which i think is crucial bc it sets her apart from the average working mom who may not have loads of help.
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@Maysprout: I agree and DH and I have had this debate several times. Of course he ends it with, "do you really want ME to be the trailblazer?" I think this is why it's so great how Sweden requires men to take a leave of absence for their kids (women can't use the months set aside for them). We know we were super lucky (it was good timing since I had both babies at the end of a semester).
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@Mrs D: Yes, that's true but it's still unpaid leave. I wonder how are her actions different from women who say that 12 weeks is more than enough time off, or who say that they were dying to get back to work after 3 months? Would people think that hurts support for longer paid parental leave policies in the US? I hope I don't sound antagonistic, just thinking out loud.
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It's great that Mark Zuckerberg is taking paternity leave! But Facebook is doing well lately, and he has a great management team - so he can afford to do that.
Yahoo is in the middle of a crazy crisis situation, with the pending spinoff of their core business. There was an article in the Times recently called, "Marissa Mayer Has a Year to Fulfill Yahoo’s Potential"! So she is under crazy pressure, and I'm not surprised she's not taking a longer maternity leave.
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I agree with what @Adira: is saying about the top down example. Just because the company has a policy in place does not mean that lower-level employees truly have the ability to fully take advantage of that policy without some sort of consequence. If upper-level management does not set the example that fully taking advantage of those policies is encouraged and acceptable, people will feel that they cannot do so without risking hurting their jobs and careers. As unfortunate as it is, it is definitely the company culture in some industries.
It is kind of similar to PTO policies. Especially as some companies are shifting towards "unlimited" PTO. It has actually been shown that people take off fewer days when they are offered "unlimited" PTO because the people in higher-level positions do not demonstrate that taking PTO days is acceptable . When higher up management takes very few PTO days, other employees feel that they must follow the same or else risk their job.
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@Adira: Nothing really to add. Just wanted to say that reading through this thread I pretty much totally agree with what you have said.
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I talked to my husband and he said she is about to get fired. So honestly, not surprised at all she is taking a short maternity leave.
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@BandDmommy: Anything is possible, but I heard that she has a ~$160 million severance package.
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Way late and I haven't read all the posts in this thread, maybe the first 2 pages, but I just want to say that I wouldn't want to be in MM's position right now. There was an excellent article in Time last week or the week before about the current state of Yahoo, I think once people read that, they'll understand a bit better the reason for the maternity leave situation.
Now, having said that, if MM went to testify before Congress on government mandated maternity leave (regardless of what she personally took), that would send a strong messagel. But I don't see that happening.
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@mrbee: exactly, she's CEO of a company in major transition which is not going well... of course she doesn't want to take a long leave. Not to mention she's going to have the babies in a nursery next door. I don't see how this is anything like most moms' situation, so I don't think it has any bearing on how much leave is expected of others.
And she's expanded Yahoo's paid parental leave, which doesn't get mentioned in most articles.
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Agree with those of you pointing out the current state of Yahoo / supporting her "decision" to go back early. I doubt she feels she has a choice and I wouldn't be surprised if company investor relations people / attorneys wrote the statement for her. The company is not in a good place right now and they wanted to meet the "MM is going to be out" criticism head on.
Question for those of you wanting her to take longer leave as an example / role model. what if she (or another woman of childbearing age) was President? Would you expect her to step away from running the country for a period of time?
I believe she is, in her own way, supporting women by showing that even if she does have to work twice as hard and go back with the kids next door - women can still be a CEO or anything else that they want to be. is it ideal or fair? No. But the job description for a C level exec is different than an average employee and if women want to be considered for those roles regularly then they may have to make choices like this. I think she is doing the best she can to be all things to all people.
Mark Z - whether he fully unplugs or not, good for him for trying to say "it doesn't have to be like this".
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@charlotte: Don't we have a vp for times the president cannot do his or her job? I would expect that even the president should be able to step away temporarily to recover from childbirth or other medical issue. We are talking like 6 weeks, not a year! Really in the big scheme of things 6 weeks is NOT a long time and it at least sends the message that - yeah maybe it's a bad time to take leave at work but it is important to at least put your health first.
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@skipra: a lot can happen in 6 weeks. Trust me. My previous employer went completely under in less time.
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I think it's important to remember that MM is just a mom (like us) doing what she feels is best for her and her family. As many have mentioned, Yahoo is in a very precarious position, making it much harder to take time off. She is likely thinking about her family and her career (at Yahoo and then after Yahoo) when she made her maternity leave decisions.
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I thought this was a good article and pretty spot on.
http://www.scarymommy.com/marissa-mayer-gives-birth-to-twin-girls/
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@lawbee11: I saw that one too ... I agree
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@lawbee11: agree
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