Having watched the mommy wars rage last fallrnaround Sarah Palin's approach to work-family balance, I've been intrigued by the French premiere of this movie, starring the country's glamorous, embattled Justice Minister, Rachida Dati. Five days after giving birth by C-section to her daughter Zohra, Dati left the hospital and headed to the Elysee Palace for a Cabinet meeting. Cue the controversy, let fly the judgments: What about bonding and breast-feeding and savoring the glory of a social system that allows women t6 weeks of paid maternity leave?rnLike Palin, Dati is a special case; but the harder the times, the heavier the symbolism. And since Dati raced back to her desk amid a global economic meltdown, her decision took on a public as well as a personal dimension. A French feminist compared her to women in the 1920s who gave birth on the factory floor and kept working for fear of losing their job. Another called her choice "scandalous" since employers could use it to "put intolerable pressure on women" to take less time off. What a pernicious example at a moment when workers are already anxious about their security.
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