(This is in response to a discussion I had yesterday and then an amazingly similar post by Nicholas Lovell on the same theme.)
So here’s the deal. You’re a smallish startup. Everyone counts. You don’t take hiring decisions lightly; you employ someone because they’re a great fit and the best at their job. In other words, they really matter. They help you build a great business, they establish a ton of contacts with the outside world and become part of the ‘face’ of the company. Internally, they’re part of your company.
Then they turn round and say “I’d like six months off, please, for personal reasons” — and you legally have to let them take it, and take them back again afterwards.
This just doesn’t fit with how startups work at all, and to be honest, if I was that deeply enmeshed in a startup, I wouldn’t want to hurt the company by having kids. If I knew children were likely to be in my near future, why would I even take the risk of joining a startup at all? Hence a self-perpetuating glass ceiling, and on it goes.
The logical thing to do as a startup owner is to hire regardless, and if a woman decides to have a child, replace her as if it’s permanent (according to the stats in Nicholas’ post, it may as well be). Then when she returns to work, treat her as an awesome skilled employee alongside the replacement. The company will have moved on and jobs changed anyway, so you can’t just “step back in” so to speak. Of course, this leads to politics and Drama, doesn’t it?
It seems way easier to find a replacement permanently, than “oh your job only exists for six months” (in this regard, 3 years is easier). And obviously some roles are easier to fill than others, a talented engineer probably would be replaceable on a temporary basis whereas a salesperson/COO isn’t. You could also promote internally (not like startups have complex organisational structures) and replace the promotee, and figure things out when the maternity leaver comes back. The bigger problem to me is funding. You’re basically throwing money away. Ideally, you’re investing in an excellent employee, vital to your startup’s success — but it doesn’t always work like that.
The crazy thing is I hadn’t even thought about all this. I’m a female startup founder, and I’m certainly not having kids in the near future. Despite the proliferation of baby avatars among my Facebook friends, I tend to forget other people want them, and that as an employer it can cause all sorts of trouble. It certainly hadn’t occurred to me that the very existence of maternity legislation makes it hard for all women. I can’t even legally say in a job interview that I don’t intend to have children within 5 years, can I? (And who’d believe me? Everyone knows women are fickle, hormonal creatures.) Argh. Can, worms, presto.