Tuesday, July 17, 2012

New Yahoo CEO is Pregnant

Lisa Belkin reports:
Named the new chief executive of Yahoo! yesterday, [Marissa] Mayer announced hours later that she is pregnant with her first child....Her first comment on the subject was that she will take only a few weeks of maternity leave when her son arrives in October and she'll probably work through those from home.
I wonder if she told Yahoo board members in advance. Will this result in firms thinking twice before putting a woman of child bearing age (Mayer is 37) into key positions at a firm? Yahoo is a wreck and the CEO brought in to fix things. in a few months, is going to be at home breast feeding. Yahoo!!

18 comments:

  1. Another ethical lapse? Yahoo must be VERY desparate. One would have thought there would be more sue diligence.

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  2. I'm thinking more about the harm to the child who will have divided attention from its mother. Pretty awful.

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  3. I'm a working mother and trust me, she is going to be having meltdowns left and right. This can't end well.

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  4. Would it be ok for a new Dad to be the CEO of Yahoo? What about his divided attention? Pathetic comments from otherwise intellectual opinions that I enjoy on here.

    Entrepreneurs' drive is something very personal. The new CEO's position has nothing to do with her pregnancy and everything to do with her pregnancy. It is a deeply personal issue with her. We should respect that, instead of passing harsh judgement.

    Whether Yahoo knew about it or not, is a totally different issue.

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    1. I think you will have an important point here as soon as fathers start breast feeding.

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    2. Indeed. But technology has advanced. Breast pumps, refrigerators, etc. make it possible to feed the baby without the need for being on the breast.

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    3. Isn't that why breast pumps were invented?

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    4. Breast pumps won't help. I exclusively breast fed my daughter for 1 year, while working. In order to keep your milk supply up when you are away from the baby, you have to pump at least every couple of hours. To do this, you have to find a private spot, get the pumps, bottles accessories out and sit there, relax and pump for about 20 minutes. Once you are finished, you have to clean the accessories and store the milk in a cool place. If you don't keep up with it every few hours or more, your milk supply will crash and your baby will be very hungry. It takes longer than feeding a baby does because of the set up, etc.

      It's a huge hassle and takes a lot of time and focus out of your day. Unless, she is going to be pumping during the board meetings.

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  5. Pregnant women shouldn't apply for jobs. Also, the fact that she didn't take her husband's last name suggests a lack of commitment. I'm all for women in the work place, but CEO? Where does it all end?

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    1. We only have to at the kids of Queen Victoria's and Queen Elizabeth the Sequel CEOs, don't we?

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    2. That doesn't make any sense. Please write better next time.

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  6. Sounds like a set up. Put a pregnant Google exec at the helm of their largest competitor. Then the exec goes on maternity leave. No strategy, no leadership, and they can’t fire her. Well done Google.

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  7. This would be quite OK with an old, stable company. But Yahoo is not stable. They needed someone at the helm who could give undivided attention to the company in order to give it new direction. A newly made mom or dad is not the correct candidate.

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  8. So countdown to Google-Yahoo merger/hostile takeover then?

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  9. This is the very reason why women should not be in the board room and should be in their rightful position at the helm of the kitchen.

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  10. Ayy Zyzz u r a hard kunt m8!!

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  11. Amen zyzz brother

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