A couple of observations after reading Karyn-Grace's post:

First, there was never a time when the majority of mothers in North America were able 
to stay out of the workforce. When LLL had its beginnings, middle class families who were 
able to live on one income more frequently did so than they do now.  This was in large 
part because women were shut out of many, if not most, professions and faced 
tremendous social stigma if they chose to work outside the home.  But let's not confuse 
trends among the privileged, and mostly white, middle and upper classes with what has 
gone on among the majority of North Americans.  

Second, in the United States, many mothers face an unbearable dilemma:  come back to 
work a few weeks after giving birth or don't come back at all.  In most other stable, 
developed democracies in the world, women do not have to choose between being with 
their babies and continuing in their paid employment.  In the UK, for example, mothers 
have just gone from receiving six months of paid maternity leave to nine months.  Their 
jobs are held for them, and they are often able to come back on a part-time basis. 

These conditions do not exist in the US. There are many, many women who desperately 
wish they could have more maternity leave, but who simply won't (and in most cases, 
realistically, can't) throw away their livelihoods in a bid to get more time with their 
babies.  Staying home with baby doesn't work so well if the bank is foreclosing on the 
home.

If an organization wants to reject offers of leadership from women who choose the rock 
instead of the hard place, that organization is indeed welcome to do so. In addition to this 
practice, this organization might consider working for longer maternity leaves for 
American women.  This would be an excellent way to honor the intense need babies have 
to be with their mothers, wouldn't it?

Kerry Ose

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