Modernize Parental Leave

Canada's birth rate is dropping, and the cost of living is partly to blame. A more supportive leave plan would make parenthood more affordable

- Allison Venditti

DURING MY 15-YEAR CAREER as an HR specialist, I designed leave-management programs, like disability and parental leaves, for large Canadian companies.

When it came time for me to have my first child in 2011, I knew the drill. I submitted for the maximum time-which, in days of El past, was roughly 12 months-and socked away extra savings in advance. My second and third leaves were more complicated: I had a newborn with medical needs, plus some of my own. I decided to return to work, taking part-time career counselling gigs so I could make money and attend doctors' appointments. Over and over again, I heard the same issues from women I knew-about parental leave and juggling responsibilities-so I thought, Why not all get together to talk? That's how Moms at Work, Canada's first professional association for working mothers, was born in 2017.