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Yahoo CEO's short pregnancy leave sparks debate
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Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer may have doubled the company's paid maternity leave in 2013, but that doesn't mean she'll take much time off when she gives birth to twins this winter. - photo by Payton Davis
Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer may have doubled the company's paid maternity leave in 2013, but that doesn't mean she'll take much time off when she gives birth to twins this winter.

And some worry her choice sets unfair precedents for parents-to-be in the office, Linda Carroll of Today wrote.

Mayer's announcement came Monday via Tumblr. In it, she likened her approach to balancing work and pregnancy this time around to when her son was born in 2013.

"Since my pregnancy has been healthy and uncomplicated and since this is a unique time in Yahoos transformation, I plan to approach the pregnancy and delivery as I did with my son three years ago, taking limited time away and working throughout," Mayer wrote.

According to CNN Money, a Yahoo spokesman said the company is "extremely happy for her and supportive of her plans and approach."

However, that same approach is spurring debate in regards to the pressure parents feel to constantly work even post-pregnancy, Carroll's article indicated.

Carroll reported friends and fans posted words of encouragement on social media about Mayer's choice to keep time off during pregnancy minimal.

Some said she inspires fellow "Mom-E-Os" with her hard work; others said her children will look up to her in the future for making such decisions, according to Today.

But not everyone was supportive of her decision.

"How nice for you Marissa. Try that with a regular job," one sarcastically posted, showing the revived debate's other side.

Ellen Bravo wrote for CNBC that Mayer's decision isn't always available to moms with those "regular jobs," who don't have as much resources or money at their disposal to help around the house or with childcare.

Representatives at the top set workplace expectations, Bravo wrote, so if Mayer takes no time off, others will struggle even if they work at places that provide paid maternity leave.

"Many people are rooting for Marissa Mayer to take a longer leave in order to be a better role model for women in professional and executive positions ," Bravo wrote. "How many in senior positions will feel comfortable taking the full time if the top company mom takes so little? There's a real danger that those who take the leave allowed on paper will be looked at as less committed and dedicated and less competent at time management."

Ultimately, Bravo's piece stated that a solid understanding of the differences between Mayer's situation and most Americans' pregnancy hurdles could encourage her and other business leaders to demand more help for mothers in the workplace.

But Mayer's standing as a CEO makes her situation completely different in the first place, Belinda Luscombe wrote for Time.

As CEO, Mayer's duties revolve around "getting people to do stuff," and for many reasons, being a CEO mom is easier than being a non-CEO mom, according to Time.

Luscombe wrote women in the workplace have much to fight for in regards to maternity leave; however, using Mayer as an example helps them gain little ground.

"[CEO mothers] dont necessarily need to take so much time off, because they have the wherewithal to have their kids needs taken care of when they go back to work," Luscombe's piece stated. "But those moms who are still on the lower rungs of the ladder have fewer choices."

According to New York Daily News, Mayer doubled Yahoo's paid maternity leave from eight weeks to 16 in 2013.
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