Why Maternity Leave is Challenging for Women in Leadership

How long you take for parental leave can feel like a hidden test of your true commitment and ambition.

We tell the stories of how quickly admired women in enviable leadership positions came back to work following maternity leave – if they took time at all. 

We hold these stories up as testaments of the sheer weight women can carry when it comes to “having it all”. 

And for some women, that's a choice they'd choose over again. It’s what they wanted. And every parent’s choice should be supported. 

But for many women in leadership, it doesn't feel like a choice. There's spoken and unspoken pressure to take shorter maternity leaves, even when a company has a generous parental leave policy on paper. 

The pressure often comes from several factors:

1. Career Concerns

• Women worry about being viewed as less committed or capable if they take extended leave. There’s a fear that stepping away for a long period could hinder career progression or affect their reputation within the company.

2. Team and Organizational Pressure

• Leadership roles often come with high expectations, and women feel responsible for their team's success. They might fear a longer leave will create instability or burden their team, leading them to return sooner than they’d like.

3. Workplace Culture

• Even in companies with generous policies, the broader workplace culture can play a significant role. If the environment isn’t supportive or if other leaders (especially male counterparts) don't take full advantage of parental leave, women feel the need to conform to expectations and shorten their leave. 

4. Lack of Suitable Coverage

• In some cases, companies don’t have systems in place for seamless leadership transitions, leaving the parent-to-be feeling they need to return early to maintain continuity and avoid disruptions.

These pressures highlight the need for more comprehensive support systems and a shift in workplace culture that fully embraces the importance of maternity and parental leave, especially if we want to see more women in leadership positions (and help keep them there).