How can scientists balance between their careers and their families? Should men be able to take care of their small children in paid time off? In her essay, Dayra A. Lorenzo Mercado provides strong arguments for the implementation of paid paternity leave. Read on to find out more.
Paid Paternity Leave in Switzerland: Worth a Consideration?
Essay by Dayra A. Lorenzo Mercado, PhD student at the Brain Research Institute at UZH.
Walking around the corridors of our institute I find brilliant scientists, who are also mothers and fathers, working vigorously to climb up the merciless steps of the academic ladder and promptly rushing to pick up their offspring from child care after work. Academic careers demand to be fed by high profile publications, networking, and obtaining funding, amongst many other exigencies. How can these scientists balance their careers and their families? If we generalize, how could working mothers and fathers around the world be aided to fulfill their family’s needs economically, and emotionally? Moreover, how can they find a balance between their careers and family, such that the compromises for success do not have to lean heavily on either side of the scale?
Read entire essay here