I must say first and foremost that I want to congratulate Marissa Mayer for taking over the helm of Yahoo. It's a big step up for her (well, I would say that leaving Google for Yahoo is like leaving geek paradise of awesomeness to work at...well a failed company) and I wish her all the best. She is a very accomplished and powerful woman in an industry that has traditionally (like most traditions, a change is good for the world) male dominated.
This role is also a safe bet for her, as if she fails then nobody will blame her, because let's face it...Yahoo is having issues (multiple CEOs in the span of less than a decade, flatlining revenue/profits and a dwindling user base and a search deal with MSFT). On the other hand, if she succeeds and turns Yahoo around then she gets to bask in the glory of the press and take a swim in a pool filled with cash/stock. Yahoo is also sending the message to the world that they have no concerns at all about hiring a pregnant woman for a very high powered role - this is a first (at least as far as I am aware of ).
Ok, now it's time to cleanse the horrible taste of being positive with the mouth wash of withering criticism. :-)
1) Why the hell would anyone in their right mind leave a company that is on the forefront of technology for one that is in the dregs? The offer had to have been pretty sweet in terms of cash/stock and the prestige of being CEO...but as I said earlier, a CEO of circling the drain. It would be like moving from moving from being 5th in command of the USS Missouri to taking the captain's chair of the Titanic.
What would you choose?
Or
2) She's only going to take two weeks of maternity leave, but will work through it. This creates several problems that I can see:
a) She's going to miss out on one of the most amazing times in her parental life - this sends a message to the child that he/she comes second to being the CEO of a D List tech company. I can't imagine a worse message to send to one of the most precious people in the life of a parent (call me an asshole, but I said it).
b) It sets the precedent that women (even though the have the legal right to take leave) in the work force might be expected to do the same. Not everyone is a Type A personality/workaholic that Marissa Mayer might be, and this has very wide ranging socioeconomic implications for everyone in the US. Thanks for setting the bar so high for everyone else that we're all now setup for failure...thanks for nothing jerk face.
3) Could Yahoo be setting her up for failure? Yahoo stock and revenue can charitably described as being in a garbage can and there is no tangible evidence to suggest that a turnaround is inevitable...even with the hiring of Marissa Mayer. I would think that it would be very callous/evil to setup a person of Marissa's caliber for failure...but I wouldn't put it past corporate America.
Alright my dear readers, fire away with your comments/hate mail.
Credit to the Despair for to encapsulating this blog post with one image:
http://www.despair.com/sacrifice1.html
I can't speculate at all on what parenthood means generally, or what parenthood means to her, so I acknowledge my response to point 2 may be somewhat lacking.
ReplyDeleteBut point 2B makes me uncomfortable. Various men in high positions routinely make decisions that prioritizes their careers over their family. Whether that's good are bad, no one accuses them of setting a precedent or responsible for modelling appropriate work/life balance for all other men.
So why should Ms Mayer's decision become a benchmark all women must aspire to? Either we look to the decisions of CEOs of both genders as models for our own life, or we look to neither. Her gender shouldn't suddenly make her personal decisions more relevant to other women.
And actually, I believe there aren't any laws that requires a company to grant maternity leave. US might be the only developed country in the world that does not have that legal requirement.
ReplyDelete