And Another Thing

As long as I'm ranting, and being irritated at the lack of quality of certain female VP candidates, I think I'll address women's issues in the UAE.

Here's all I'll say: If I ever have kids, I'm definitely having them here, and not in the States. Why? Because in the States, I can use up my 2 weeks of vacation for maternity leave, and after that I'm rushing back to work as fast as possible because my family needs the income. Yeah yeah they'll hold my job for up to a year; big deal with a mortgage to pay. Here? I'm on Fully Paid Leave for 4 months, 1/2 paid leave for another month after that, and only after That am I concerned about rushing back to work for income, although I've got another 5 months that I can take unpaid if so desired. This is a policy that says: women's full participation in the workforce benefits everybody. And when mothers stay home longer with their children, everybody wins. Is this bad for business? Are women having trouble finding jobs here? No, and no. In this middle-eastern bastion of capitalism, we're competing with Finland on progressive work-family policies for women. Write your congressmen. That's all I have to say.