Monday 21 April 2008

Comment: Doing a Kaplinsky

There is a lot of testosterone in the newspapers this week. The Spanish government now has a majority of women and there has been a rash of articles about "if women rule the world" (they do already). So now there is an editorial backlash.

Today in Metro there was the headline "Bosses fear girls will do a Kaplinsky". Metro are trying to introduce a new noun to the dictionary that means take up a new job and get pregnant. Most employers when asked about a new employee getting pregnant said they would feel they had been cheated and that they would like to ask female candidates about plans to start a family. Only 1 in 20 would hire a pregnant woman. For small businesses this is particularly the case and I know of several women who have been made redundant the second they took maternity leave.

As for Natasha Kaplinsky she works as an independent and so she does not get maternity pay.

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