Reply to If women could go back in time

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Birth control resources, from education to pills to abortion, all should be easily and freely available to every woman. No woman should ever be forced to keep a baby she doesn't want.[/quote]

I agree in some respects.  I also feel like before all of this was available, men were forced to take more responsibility.  Now that it’s a woman’s choice to have children, men don’t feel responsible, society at large isn’t responsible, and no one is responsible for caring for and raising a child but the woman herself.

I am against the pro-life movement.  It’s obviously about gaining political power and controlling women.  But I wonder if reproductive freedom has actually been good for women, particularly women in the workforce.

When my male colleague was injured while he was skiing and had to take three months off, everyone was understanding and sympathetic about his accident.  When I went to take three months off for maternity leave, people were angry that I had made a decision to have a child at that particular time, and I was asked to do a lot of the less desirable work ahead of time, during my last couple of months of pregnancy.  
When my colleague had tens of thousands in bills following his accident, they were mostly paid by health insurance and then they worked out a plan for him to pay off the rest.  I had to come up with tens of thousands for childcare out of pocket.

Obviously, I did plan for this because I exist in the same world everyone else does.  But I wonder how it might have been different if pregnancy was viewed as a natural event that occurs rather than a specific (and somewhat inconsiderate) choice.  [/quote]

Unfortunately I don't think it's just about pregnancy/maternity leave.  I have definitely seen women and men treated differently regarding leave for other things (where both were choices) even in organizations that had large numbers of female staff (although still headed by a man). I remember one male colleague being given a 3-month unpaid leave of absence to do an international bike trip (not a professional race or anything - just a "fun" trip), but a female colleague denied an unpaid 3-month leave of absence to run for city council. Both had been with the organization for at least the same time (she might have been there longer) and were in good standing.

I think the real issue is that men's (personal) time is still valued more than women's. It's that same thing where schools will call the Mom and not the Dad even though the Dad may be listed first and actually noted as the contact. Or if a Dad works an adjusted schedule so he can leave work every day at 3:00 pm to pick up his kid he's such a great Dad ! But if a woman tried that she'd be seen as a slacker and undependable worker and maybe not a good "fit" for the position.[/quote]

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