Is Maternity Leave is for Suckers?

if you were take a poll of female CEO's who have children and ask each of them how long their maternity leaves were for each of their children, what do you think the average maternity leave length would be? some possible answers... they didn't take maternity leaves. they took four weeks off. they took eight weeks off... those answers are probable. but i would fall out of my chair if any answered 8 months. or that any took more than a one year break. or that any took ten years off, to raise the kids and get them off to school. would you agree?

i was reading this article today from the Wall Street Journal quoting Jack Welch at the SHRM09 conference saying that, "there is no such thing as work-life balance." and you know what? i think i agree. being CEO of a large company - particularly a multinational, a Fortune 500... that doesn't happen easily. being CEO of your own company that maybe you founded? maybe a little easier... but success takes sacrifices - from men and women both. and so i can't help but to wonder... what's to come of me when i have children? how long can i realistically take maternity leave for? what difference would it make if i had help from family? am i going to have to hire help? do i want a nanny or au pair raising my progeny?

tell me you've found a way to balance kids and your career - and i'm going to probably say in response that you could be doing better if you didn't take those breaks to have kids and all the activities and events that have come along with it. (or at least i'll be thinking it in my head.) i'm just too cynical to believe otherwise... at least right now.  so i can't help but wonder... for the 15 women who are CEO's of FORTUNE 500 companies, or the 28 women who are CEO's of FORTUNE 1000, how many of them have kids? and how long were their maternity leaves? and if i were to look each of them in the eye and asked for their thoughts on this, would they sugar coat the reality of being a female CEO with kids? not that i'm thinking about children today, or tomorrow for me... some day... but it makes me think. what sacrifices will i be making?

Comments

[Lisa Rosendahl]

There's simply no balancing kids and career. From experience I can say that in blink of an eye, sacrfices become choices, and I make them every day ranging from going to the gym vs watching the kiddo get on the bus to taking the promotion and extra hours vs staying put to have more time at home. I try to make the choices that are right for me and my family and when I don't I put an extra $5.00 in the kid's counseling fund for the future and go back at it again the next day. Nice header change but where's the coffee drinking picture? :)

[jessica lee]

lisa... my lovely, lisa. how i adore thee. the coffee drinking picture reminded me too much of winter. it will go back up later. :)

thanks for being honest about the lack of balance. maybe these are my own childhood issues coming out... but if there is no balance, and it's always choices that have to be made... i just don't want to choose to have kids but then make career related choices later - and then end up resenting my children for forcing me to make choices. they can't be blamed, i know that... but i just don't ever want to them to feel like they are the reason for me not achieving everything i want to achieve. does that make sense? but maybe i can and always will be accountable for my decisions. i hope. eh... i need to sort that out in my head a bit more. :)

[Lisa]

Sort away and then you grab your coffee, I'll grab mine and we can talk - offer will be in the table for when ever you are ready.

[fran melmed]

yay. another sane voice heard from re: jack welch's comments on work/life balance. frankly, i don't get why people had such a problem with what he said. i mean, it's reality. there is no balance. you do make choices. you make them if you have kids. you make 'em if you don't. who's to say now how you'll measure "doing better" in the future. for many of us -- men and women -- our measures change with the arrival of kids. not always, but sometimes. the most we can do is make the best choice for the moment we're in. anything else is ripe for making onself crazy.