Cherchez la mère ...

There's been much debate today about the fact that more women have become unemployed or are struggling to find jobs.

Even though some well-meaning people are suggesting that it might be due to the fact that more women are employed in the public sector which is suffering badly because of the cuts, nobody has dared to say anything about what is most certainly a big factor in those precarious economical times: the fact that women are still too obsessed about being or becoming mothers.

Work-life balance is extremely important for me, but it is not because I have children - I am blissfully childfree - but because I have a lot of interests and don't really like corporate and office life. The ideal for me is to work for myself in my own environment. But it is not always possible all the time.

I have been working freelance for the past two years, but recently, I have been thinking about taking a part-time or full-time job again for a while in order to save a little bit of money for future projects. I have become worried about the fact that I am female and that if any of the competition is male, it is them who will be chosen for the position even if I am slightly more qualified/appropriate. And to be perfectly honest, I can't say that I wouldn't understand the employer's point of view. Do I have to put on my CV the sentence "I haven't got any children and it is not my intention to become pregnant." or "No, I haven't got any biological clock, and nothing's ticking, thank you very much!" 
Or should I raise the subject at the interview stage?
(I am only teasing!)

I have worked in two industries where the majority of employees are women: teaching and publishing. I have seen a lot of women abuse the system. Yes, it is good that those who want to carry on working can do so, but some women should understand that as well as rights, they have obligations.

I have lost count of instances of women taking maternity leave and coming back to work pregnant again, only to ask for yet another maternity leave; I've known several women who worked barely 6 months in two years because they had two children in those two years; women who take their full maternity leave knowing perfectly well that they won't come back but don't tell anyone, even their husbands/partners. Then the ones who do come back to work and then suddenly ask to go part-time immediately without having discussed it with the employer, or those who are not reliable at all and turn up at midday or leave at 2pm, or take days off at the last minute because their kid(s) has/have had a bad night, doesn't/don't feel well, has/have a parents' evening/show/dance lesson/etc. or take their screaming toddlers to work with them and interrupt everyone's work.

Of course, the ones who don't have children/don't take the piss have to cover for them, schedules are changed, workloads are swapped to accommodate the "mums". And what about their co-workers? Don't they have rights?
That kind of attitude has a negative effect on other female workers/job applicants too. But hey, what do they care? Being a mum makes them untouchable, doesn't it?
Aaah, equality...

Mind you, there's paternity leave, now, isn't there? (something very fews guys want to take anyway!).  
Therefore, to light up the mood, here's the Modern Toss' take on this issue: Their "Work" series are simply splendid... And yes, it is very rude and silly and un-PC!
http://www.moderntoss.com/

"I'm thinking of getting a woman pregnant, how much time off is it?"

"My wife's just had another baby, it's not mine but can I have a couple of weeks off anyway?"