Well, here we are, five days into the news that SHOCK HORROR, Prime Minister Jacinda Adern, a working NZ woman, is going to have a baby.
Is anyone actually, apart from the media, got their knickers in a twist? Didn’t think so.
Jacinda, I may not have voted for you, but when I heard your news I felt damn optimistic about living in a country that supports the self-determination of women right from the very top. That’s getting organisational culture right!
For 900 odd years, Kiwi girls in New Zealand have got on with the job of doing what they need to do. Our country won’t fall over while she’s on Maternity leave, and having a baby (for the most part!) doesn’t mean you lose your head, or are rendered incapable of thinking through decisions.
The men in my circle (strong, tough men) also took the news in their stride – “Not much different to you when you had your babies Nic” said one. But I won’t be the only modern farm girl that’s ended up out in a storm delivering lambs 4 weeks after delivering her own baby, or done the GST the day she gets home from the birthing unit (pretty much because I’m a disorganised twit). Many of us have stories of what we had to fit in alongside becoming a mother, amongst the tiredness and the tears. Because of course there will plenty of tiredness, and tears. But by God I do not doubt for a minute that Jacinda Adern is any less capable of combining motherhood and work than any other amazing New Zealand woman.
I know with certainty that I am a better person for being a mother, and I’m sure you will be too. Congratulations Jacinda.
GrassFed in the city 