UK editor of Vogue magazine: "Why would anyone hire a woman?"

Article here. Good question, one I've often asked myself when a debate about women's pay gets going. If women are paid less than men, as many claim, perhaps it's because they're so much riskier to hire. Men rarely file discrimination law suits, file sexual harassment claims, or take time off to have kids, then come back after weeks off and expect their old job back, with more flexibility in time. Even at 25% more, men are a better bargain. Be sure to vote on the poll question to see the results. Excerpt:

'I treasured what for me was stolen time to be a mother and homemaker, yet it also made me appreciate the liveliness and richness that my work brings.

It is also the very issue that drives a stream of women into my office to discuss their futures, their maternity leaves, four-day working weeks, possible job shares, all now encouraged by recent legislation.
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I completely understand the decision of any woman to give up their job to stay at home with their children.

And it seems entirely reasonable that in many situations a woman who becomes a mother will want to trade in her role for something less demanding.
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But what I don't understand is the idea that you should be able to keep exactly the same job, with all the advantages that entails, and work less for it, regardless of how that affects the office or colleagues.

I don't think I'm a monster. I currently employ a 90 per cent female staff on the editorial team at Vogue.
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Except that, when they do return, many of them don't want exactly their old job back. They want the same role but moulded into a time frame that suits family life better.

They want to investigate four-day weeks, flexitime, jobshares, and they often then have another baby and are entitled to take another year off. But is this realistic?

Can the diversity of circumstances and job requirements mean that one-size-fits-all legislation works? Criticism of the situation is very much the view that dares not speak its name.
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How cherished does one feel as a boss by someone who is only at work nine months out of three years, the rest being taken as maternity leave, or by someone who - when resources are already stretched - forces a flexi-time deal?

Women have increasingly broken through that old glass ceiling with determination and, to be honest, helpful employment legislation.

As a result, many are now employers themselves. Let's not put that progress back by creating a world where the next generation of women workers becomes too inconvenient and awkward to employ and find themselves legislated back into the home.'

Wikipedia entry for the author is here.