Schmaltz on wry

Just because Mayer could, as CEO, decide to take time off to be with her baby, doesn’t mean it will be easier for a senior manager, a programmer, or a receptionist at Yahoo to do the same without it hurting their careers. She is, after all, the boss and can do what she wants as long as she continues to meet the expectations of shareholders and the board of directors. If Mayer were to take six months of maternity leave and, at the same time, announce that she is implementing a forward thinking corporate parental leave policy at Yahoo, that might make a difference. Or if Mayer were to decide she was going to open a day care on site at Yahoo, so her baby could be close to her during the day, and she also made that day care available at a subsidized rate to all Yahoo employees, that might make a difference. Her choices as an individual are inconsequential compared to the impact her choices as a boss and leader could have.