Mama Bear

Having a daughter has turned me into a feminist. 

Going through a pregnancy while in the workforce in this country has turned me into a feminist.

Having a president who completely demeans women has turned me into a feminist. 

It's not a label I've ever identified with, but you better believe I do now. I'm a ferocious Mama Bear who is not going to stand for my daughter being held back in any way because she's a woman. You know why? Because women are awesome. Moms are awesome. I'M awesome. I carried her for 9 months in my body, and then I gave birth to her, and then I nursed her for a year. A mere 12 weeks after her birth I went back to work because maternity leave in this country is a joke. On top of working 40 hours a week, I pumped twice a day and nursed her during lunch like a superwoman, all while making a measly 76 cents to the dollar of what a man in my position makes.

This is not ok!

And it's especially not ok when I think about it in the context of Hannah working one day, and Hannah becoming a mother one day. "Gender pay gap" and "6 week maternity leave" had better be totally archaic concepts to her that she will study in history class and shake her head at how backwards things were long ago in 2017. 

 

On January 21st the largest protest in United States history took place in Washington, D.C. when over 500,000 people gathered to march for women's rights and gender equality. Over 600 marches took place worldwide with over 5 million people participating.

In a sea of thousands of posters and signs, there was one very special hot pink poster in Washington that day that had Hannah's name on it. One of Stephen's co-workers made the trip to Washington and she marched on behalf of Hannah and some other friends and family! Hopefully that will be of some significance to Hannah one day, who knows... maybe when she's the CEO of a company or something (if that's what she wants to do). The point is she can and should be able to do whatever she wants to do.

 

Top Left: Women's March on Washington,
Bottom Left: Stephen's co-worker Kathryn marching in Washington,
Top Right: back of poster that Kathryn carried with all the people she marched for- Summers family represented!
Bottom Right: Hannah's friend Marley at the Women's March

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On the subject of maternity leave:
I consulted with my dear cousin Carina, who is currently on maternity leave in Germany after having her adorable little daughter back in December.

Here is the jaw dropping comparison of our maternity leaves:
 

The first 2 weeks of my leave were fully paid, BUT I was required to use my vacation time to cover those days, so that left me with zero vacation days to take for the remainder of the year. The next 4 weeks were covered under a Short Term Disability plan, which I had to pay into extra the entire year. I got about 60% of my salary for those 4 weeks. The last 6 weeks I didn't get a penny. After a total of 12 weeks off, I had to return to work full time, or I would have lost my job.

Contrasted with Germany's sweet deal:

First of all it's not even called maternity leave. The word for it in German is Mutterschutz, which literally translates into Motherhood Protection or Protecting Mothers. I love that. Go Germany.

A pregnant woman in Germany gets to start her Mutterschutz 6 weeks BEFORE her due date. Amen! Right?!! Anyone who's been almost 9 months preggo will agree with that wholeheartedly.

Once the baby is born they get an additional 8 weeks fully paid. Then they get... brace yourselves American girls... THE REMAINDER OF THE YEAR OFF at 60% of their salary. After the first year off, they have the option to take a second year off at no pay, but their job is secure. They can also opt to just work part-time for the second year.  How amazing is that?!!

It's too late for me, but by the time Hannah has kids, she better be getting some Motherhood Protection.