Paid maternity leave is vital

Paid maternity leave is vital: : "'While an overwhelming 93 per cent agree in the poll that 'the most important thing for a baby in its first year of life is to have the full-time care of at least one parent', 83 per cent of respondents also agreed that 'financial pressure means that many new mothers have to return to work too soon after having a baby'.'"

The 20 somethings are very clear in what they want and they are the haves. They have been brought up with a sense of entitlement. The best of them articulate their position well. They have a right to work. They have a right to have children. They do not have a right to be disadvantaged. Were they a man they would not be disadvantaged. We seemed to have passed through the phase where men stay at home to help care for babies. It has become the role of women and professional women want to be considered as equals and the only way to do that, in their eyes, is to be reasonable about parenting leave. They could have less. They could have smaller homes , smaller mortgages and older cars. It's not negotiable and it will be an election issue.