Guardian - 22 January 2018, 11:30 (+ 2306 days 23 hours and 50 minutes) In Depth/Analysis
I was the first UK minister to take maternity leave. Parliament should allow MPs to set an example of good practiceJacinda Ardern’s pregnancy announcement put a smile on the faces of working women across the globe. When the New Zealand prime minister has her baby later this year, it will be the first time this century, and second time ever, that an elected national leader has given birth. With her partner Clarke Gayford (he plans to stay at home with the baby), she is smashing a glass ceiling that has curiously glazed back over in the 30 years since Benazir Bhutto, as prime minister of Pakistan, gave birth.Hopefully their happy, relaxed approach to the prospect of balancing work and family life will make it more normal for the rest of us, too. As Jacinda points out: “I am not the first woman to multitask.” On handling morning sickness at work, she says: “It’s just what ladies do.” Sadly taking the flak is also “what ladies do”. Amid the celebrations, there have been the predictable attacks on whether she can cope from the same kinds of people who attacked Julia Gillard, Australia’s former prime minister, for being childless. And I don’t recall anyone asking Tony Blair or David Cameron if they could handle a new baby in No 10. Continue reading...