Hey everyone,

We have been researching gender roles in class and we each picked out a source which we agree with. I wrote this essay discussing the issue of maternity leave: its significance, the controversies surrounding it, and an example of how it can be cut too short. Being a mother brings great responsibility, and it should be handled accordingly.

Five days. That is how much time off Justice Minister Rachida Dati of France took from work after giving birth to her daughter Zohra (Gibbs paragraph 1). One work-week. About the same amount of time taken off for a typical vacation. Nobody can afford to take unnecessary days off in this economy, but few would classify several weeks off after childbirth as "unnecessary", especially in "a societal system that allows women 16 weeks of paid maternity leave" (Gibbs paragraph 1). It is very difficult to manage both a family and a job, especially during a tough economic time period. Gibbs delves into the issues surrounding balancing the two, and the difficulty that follows.

The care of one's child, especially for a mother during the first few weeks, should take precedent over all other activities. Even if Dati loves her job, her actions are simply careless and set bad examples for working mothers-to-be. “A French feminist compared her to women in the 1920s who gave birth on the factory floor and kept working for fear of losing their job” (Gibbs paragraph 2). I believe her situation is actually worse due to the fact that her job was not in jeopardy, as were the jobs of the factory mothers of the ‘20s. There was no reason, besides from a possible love for her job, that Dati should have returned to her work so quickly. Mothers’ instincts are there for a reason; all mammals, from rabbits to humans, nurture and take care of their young. Though rabbits don’t have a 40-hour work week as humans do, we have the intelligence capacity to provide unrivaled care for our children. Because caring for our children is such a universal issue, no mother should allow her job, regardless of its significance, to interfere with her first several weeks of care.

Caring for a newborn child can be one of the most difficult yet most enjoyable periods of one’s life. While it is hard to step away from the responsibility of one’s job, this should be a no-brainer; the responsibility of one’s own child is of much greater importance. Rachida Dati should provide a lesson to all of us that we must set our priorities in life. Being on maternity leave is never looked down-upon since everybody knows the value of such childcare. Thus, women should never think twice about taking the necessary time off from work for being good mothers. Emphasizing work more than motherhood would be setting humans backwards in evolution; we cannot afford to forget human nature, even during the economic crisis we face today.

Works Cited

Gibbs, Nancy. "Married to the Job." Time. 02 FEB 2009. 16 Feb 2009 .