Author claims non-mothers should be given 'me-ternity leave'

An author has recently sparked controversy by claiming that all female employees should be entitled to maternity leave – even if they’re not pregnant.

Meghann Foye’s book Meternity tells the tale of a young editor who is so stressed out at work that she pretends to be pregnant, just to take some time off and figure her life out. In a recent interview with The New York Post, Foye explained why she believed that all non-parents, and in particular non-mums, should be given paid “meternity” leave.

She commented: “The more I thought about it, the more I came to believe in the value of a “meternity” leave — which is, to me, a sabbatical-like break that allows women and, to a lesser degree, men to shift their focus to the part of their lives that doesn’t revolve around their jobs.

“Bottom line: Women are bad at putting ourselves first. But when you have a child, you learn how to self-advocate to put the needs of your family first. A well-crafted “meternity” can give you the same skills – and taking one shouldn’t disqualify you from taking maternity leave later.”