MP Stella Creasy recently spoke out about how she feels she needs to choose between being a mother and a member of Parliament. In a letter to Guardian News & Media, she wrote about how the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA), which regulates MP’s pay, fails to recognize that MPs go on maternity leave and will not provide any paid cover for work carried out outside the parliamentary chamber.
In response, Shelley Winter, Global Head of Coaching at YSC, shared with Bdaily News that the UK Parliament’s approach to maternity leave and support is archaic. As Shelley points out in the article, the UK Parliament needs to address its back-to-work policy and ensure it’s offering the support required – through pay, coaching and flexibility – to help women like Stella Creasy do what they should be doing in 2019: being a mother and doing their job well.