The problem isn't that maternity leave disrupts companies individual companies. So does sleep, and they're both part of normal human life. The problem is that the system in effect has the effect of a) discriminating against woman and b) suppressing the birth rate. If you are planning at a national level, suppressing the birth rate for a tiny economic boost right now is a high road to nowhere.
And the birth rate will go up if men are forbidden to work for half a year when having a child? That seems highly doubtful, it might as well go further down because some people actually like their work.
I somewhat agree. If we want to level the playing field, we can’t have extra rights and priveleges for women because clearly they become a liability.
I think it is necessary but not sufficient though. I read here about github and the unlimited vacation policy which in practice is a no vacation policy. Just because men can take off doesn’t mean they will at least in the short term. We must keep this policy stable for decades to effect change.
> One way of handling this is making paternity and maternity leave nearly equal, and mandatory.
"mandatory" means making paternity leave compulsory for employees. I could be wrong, though.
Sometimes, a right or measure has to become mandatory to ensure people enjoy it.
If you get penalized for not voting all the modern democratic idealism which portraits voting as a right is pretty stale.
I completely get why the classic Greeks came up with it, though. They were obviously far more tribal in their culture.