If mothers were in charge

Okay, they kind of are, in many households, but I mean in the workplace. And I mean in a very specific context.

What if CEOs and policy decision-makers were all mothers? How different would our world look?

I may not be pumping milk at work for very long. Heck, I haven't even gotten the key to the first aid room in the adjoining building and I'm already thinking about whether or not to stop pumping soon (see previous post). But even if I only pump at work for 1-2 weeks, it has been a revelation.

Asking about the room options, ordering a key, getting the temporary key, going one building over to pump, and wash the pump and then to the fridge to store the bottle in a discreet but not insulated package kind of way, then going back to the office takes time. A lot of time. And it is true that just having to go to another building can make it a much harder task.

Imagine if you were told at work that the bathrooms were in the next building over. Don't you kind of expect something closer?

So it got me thinking of how a workday might look if women who had nursed were in charge.

This is not an exhaustive list, nor does it speak to all other aspects of parenthood, but here is what I came up with:

1. There would be a safe, clean, lockable pumping room on each floor or every other floor.
2. There would be 30-45 minute blocks of time for pumping, automatically. In fact, even if you're not pumping, if you have a baby, you're not sleeping enough at night, so let's just give everyone with a baby under 1 year old two 30 min. breaks during the day to rest or nap or pump. Do you know how much more functional they would be the rest of their time at work?
3. Wait, it isn't just parents of small kids. There are so many reasons we are not getting enough sleep, and I know some people who seem to be catching their 45-min. nap every single time someone gives a presentation. So, let's just make those naps mandatory for all. And since it might be better to give people time to actually fall asleep, let's consolidate them into....

Wait a minute. I think this is just the Spanish-speaking world's siesta idea.

Genius.