SELECT * FROM Shane

A recent study suggests that the baby brain phenomenon – you know, the one that makes pregnant women leave the iron on for five hours and not realise, or lock themselves out of the house on a weekly basis – may not be a pregnancy-specific condition.

Research conducted suggests that there is no mental deterioration that occurs when a woman falls pregnant. Which would suggest that blaming the ‘baby brain’ may not be as viable an option as it once was.

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As the New Year broke, I found a news article that offered some insight into what this decade would have to offer. And guess what: it was more of the same. The latest example of misdirected political correctness is the republication of Joseph Conrad’s 1897 novel The Nigger of the Narcissus as The N-word of the Narcissus.

I’m not kidding. This is true. There’s a news article about it and everything.

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People base a great deal of their personal identity around their job. When asked what they wanted to do when they grew up, I never heard anyone answer “I want to be a good person and a productive member of society” or “I want to be a stay-at-home parent and spouse.” It was always “a policeman,” “a spaceman,” “a writer,” “an actor,” “a retail worker,” etc.

So when issues like the gender pay gap come up (as they have been again and again recently), I am not without sympathy. Even as a card-carrying member of the oppressive and selfish patriarchy, I firmly believe that the same work should get the same pay, regardless of gender, ethnicity, or any of the other millions of traits for which people can be prejudiced against. And I would like to see more women in the workforce (hell, you can have my job).

But there are some very simplistic arguments out there regarding gender equality that don’t take the whole picture into account. Over-reliance on aggregate “sound-bite” type statistics is creating a farce of the issue and is obscuring a number of important factors. Here are some thoughts based on my impressions, and a little research – all presented with a dash of my winning and unique male-perspective bluster.

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This story is just one of many I have read recently dealing with the effect a baby can have upon a woman’s career. It basically says that studies show the majority of women view having a family as being incompatible with their rise up the corporate ladder. Regardless of the accuracy of the study, this is something that has popped up in the media time and again recently.

In this post, I have decided to explore my feelings on the issue. Even though we decided to have our first child before Katie began a career, I’m sure this is an issue that Katie and I will face in the future, either with ongoing childcare arrangements, or with second/third/etc children.

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