Buddy and Pedro are two male penguins who are extremely close. The Toronto Zoo decided to break up the relationship during breeding season so that each would make with a female.
There was a huge outcry and the Zoo has decided otherwise.
Most of the video reports on this situation are either snickering or seeming fake: I’d have a hard time believing this one if it weren’t verifiable. And remember, the separation is now off.
I continue to find stories like this one shocking, Census Bureau: More mothers back at work a month after giving birth.
“More employed mothers are returning to work within a month of having their first child, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Thursday. Eight out of 10, or 82%, of working women whose first child was born from 2006 to 2008 were back on the job within a month. From 1991 through 1995, only 73% of first-time mothers went back to work in the first month, the bureau said.”
According to wikipedia: “Only four countries have no national law mandating paid time off for new parents: Liberia, Papua New Guinea, Swaziland, and the United States.”
In contrast, also from wikipedia, in Sweden all working parents are entitled to 16 months paid leave per child. In Estonia mothers are entitled to 18 months of paid leave. In the UK, all female employees are entitled to 52 weeks of maternity (or adoption) leave. In Canada parental leave is 35 weeks divided as desired between two parents. This is in addition to 15 weeks maternity leave.
More here: Paid-leave benefits lag for working moms in U.S..
Feminist Philosophers 