Anke Merz left her job as a global brand manager at Procter & Gamble in London in December 2002 after seven years with the company. She loved the work but wanted to return home to Germany to be closer to her husband, who had remained there while she spent more than three years abroad.
Thirteen months later, in January 2004, Merz gave birth to a son, Alexander, and chose to be a stay-at-home mother for a time. Merz, 38, says she plans on returning to work at some point, although she knows this won't be easy. It is not that it will be hard to find a full-time position, given her work experience; rather, Merz would be hard-pressed to find facilities to take care of Alexander, now 3, while she holds a demanding job that requires flexibility and frequent travel.
Thousands of other mothers are in Merz's situation. Although the German government provides citizens with a generous family-leave policy, being a working mother in Germany is harder than in many other industrialized countries, according to faculty members at Wharton and German business schools, as well as German corporate officials.
See full Article.
Posts
