They do have a basis in reality though, and I have pointed out a number of ways that pregnancy and nursing could adversely affect your ability to do your job. I have also said that we should work to minimise these effects. Pregnancy brings very few benefits in and of itself to the workplace (it’s hard to imagine pregnant people being able to work harder or longer, or focus more than people who aren’t pregnant), but a most workplaces should have no trouble integrating pregnant and nursing women into their working environment. It’s a bit like dealing with disabilities: an office which can only be accessed by stairs unjustly disadvantages people in wheelchairs, but one that only has lifts and ramps wouldn’t disadvantage more able people. Forcing nursing women to work 8-12 hours with only very short breaks would put them at a disadvantage, but forcing everyone to take longer breaks more regularly or choose their hours wouldn’t be putting them at a disadvantage. We don’t have to say that someone has no natural disadvantage before we can see their value and accommodate their needs (this applies to men too, wherever there are issues that need to be addressed).
I agree.
Yes, but this is an example of how technology allows us to have a better working environment than before. At an earlier time, it would have been more difficult to integrate certain people into the workforce, and not just because there was an active desire to exclude them.
The retirement age is the same for both genders in many countries, and I don’t know of any examples of a later retirement age for women. Does this mean that men are being discriminated against in our current system? (There are factors other than age to consider when fixing the retirement age, so I don’t think so). It’s already been established that starting work too early in life has disastrous consequences on men and women, so it seems good for everyone that we only start when we’re older. One area that would be a factor is in our hypothetical woman-focused working environment, men might well be considered the primary caregivers from an early age. Right now women are often left holding the baby if they can’t find childcare, or have to make do with lower pay in exchange for hours that are more suitable to them. If the roles were reversed, a lot of this disparity would fall on men.
