Jan 19, 2018
Drawing global applause, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Friday that she is expecting her first child, and that she plans to work through her pregnancy and retain her political post, telling reporters outside her home: "I am not the first woman to multitask. I am not the first woman to work and have a baby."
"I know these are special circumstances, but there are many women who would have done this well before I have," she added.
\u201cWATCH: NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announces she's pregnant, then passes marriage question to partner\u201d— AFP News Agency (@AFP News Agency) 1516342488
Ardern said she will take a six-week maternity leave, deferring to Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters during that time. After that, "we'll be joining the many parents out there who wear two hats," Ardern wrote in a Facebook post announcing her pregnancy. "I'll be Prime Minister AND a mum, and Clarke will be 'first man of fishing' and stay at home dad."
The news of Ardern's pregnancy was met with an outpouring of support as well as commentary about the importance of empowering women to pursue both motherhood and their careers.
\u201cCongrats @jacindaardern! Having a bub in office is hard, but as it happens more, we\u2019ll create more momentum towards gender equality #auspol\u201d— Larissa Waters (@Larissa Waters) 1516316353
\u201cWishing @jacindaardern & @NZClarke all the best as they expect their 1st child in June: a super busy year coming up & much to look forward to. Every #woman should have the choice of combining family & career. https://t.co/Ma6B6OGXJe\u201d— Helen Clark (@Helen Clark) 1516314336
\u201cAnd that\u2019s how a working woman announces that she can walk, chew gum, and have babies. Very nicely done. https://t.co/MZtXSm64Kk\u201d— Virginia Trioli (@Virginia Trioli) 1516326676
Her short time off "contrasts with her party's parental leave policies, with the Labour-led coalition expanding paid parental leave from 18 to 22 weeks in one of its first legislative changes," Reutersnotes. "That is set to rise again to 26 weeks in 2020."
"One of the things that I have always talked about, regardless of our circumstances, has been how great it would be for us all to have the pride of knowing that we are one of the best countries to be a child," Ardern said in an interview with NZ Herald Focus.
"I've always been motived by that, and I would be had I not been in these circumstances, and so that remains a goal, and that's what our families package was about," she added, pointing to Labour's ongoing goals related to health, wellbeing, and poverty.
Ardern--who, at 37, is New Zealand's youngest prime minister in recent memory--was sworn in last October, after an intense election season. She and her partner, television presenter Clarke Gayford, found out she was expecting while in the middle of forming the national government.
Ardern will join a short list of women to serve as a nation's elected leader while pregnant; in 1990, Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto gave birth while in office.
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Drawing global applause, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Friday that she is expecting her first child, and that she plans to work through her pregnancy and retain her political post, telling reporters outside her home: "I am not the first woman to multitask. I am not the first woman to work and have a baby."
"I know these are special circumstances, but there are many women who would have done this well before I have," she added.
\u201cWATCH: NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announces she's pregnant, then passes marriage question to partner\u201d— AFP News Agency (@AFP News Agency) 1516342488
Ardern said she will take a six-week maternity leave, deferring to Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters during that time. After that, "we'll be joining the many parents out there who wear two hats," Ardern wrote in a Facebook post announcing her pregnancy. "I'll be Prime Minister AND a mum, and Clarke will be 'first man of fishing' and stay at home dad."
The news of Ardern's pregnancy was met with an outpouring of support as well as commentary about the importance of empowering women to pursue both motherhood and their careers.
\u201cCongrats @jacindaardern! Having a bub in office is hard, but as it happens more, we\u2019ll create more momentum towards gender equality #auspol\u201d— Larissa Waters (@Larissa Waters) 1516316353
\u201cWishing @jacindaardern & @NZClarke all the best as they expect their 1st child in June: a super busy year coming up & much to look forward to. Every #woman should have the choice of combining family & career. https://t.co/Ma6B6OGXJe\u201d— Helen Clark (@Helen Clark) 1516314336
\u201cAnd that\u2019s how a working woman announces that she can walk, chew gum, and have babies. Very nicely done. https://t.co/MZtXSm64Kk\u201d— Virginia Trioli (@Virginia Trioli) 1516326676
Her short time off "contrasts with her party's parental leave policies, with the Labour-led coalition expanding paid parental leave from 18 to 22 weeks in one of its first legislative changes," Reutersnotes. "That is set to rise again to 26 weeks in 2020."
"One of the things that I have always talked about, regardless of our circumstances, has been how great it would be for us all to have the pride of knowing that we are one of the best countries to be a child," Ardern said in an interview with NZ Herald Focus.
"I've always been motived by that, and I would be had I not been in these circumstances, and so that remains a goal, and that's what our families package was about," she added, pointing to Labour's ongoing goals related to health, wellbeing, and poverty.
Ardern--who, at 37, is New Zealand's youngest prime minister in recent memory--was sworn in last October, after an intense election season. She and her partner, television presenter Clarke Gayford, found out she was expecting while in the middle of forming the national government.
Ardern will join a short list of women to serve as a nation's elected leader while pregnant; in 1990, Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto gave birth while in office.
From Your Site Articles
Drawing global applause, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Friday that she is expecting her first child, and that she plans to work through her pregnancy and retain her political post, telling reporters outside her home: "I am not the first woman to multitask. I am not the first woman to work and have a baby."
"I know these are special circumstances, but there are many women who would have done this well before I have," she added.
\u201cWATCH: NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announces she's pregnant, then passes marriage question to partner\u201d— AFP News Agency (@AFP News Agency) 1516342488
Ardern said she will take a six-week maternity leave, deferring to Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters during that time. After that, "we'll be joining the many parents out there who wear two hats," Ardern wrote in a Facebook post announcing her pregnancy. "I'll be Prime Minister AND a mum, and Clarke will be 'first man of fishing' and stay at home dad."
The news of Ardern's pregnancy was met with an outpouring of support as well as commentary about the importance of empowering women to pursue both motherhood and their careers.
\u201cCongrats @jacindaardern! Having a bub in office is hard, but as it happens more, we\u2019ll create more momentum towards gender equality #auspol\u201d— Larissa Waters (@Larissa Waters) 1516316353
\u201cWishing @jacindaardern & @NZClarke all the best as they expect their 1st child in June: a super busy year coming up & much to look forward to. Every #woman should have the choice of combining family & career. https://t.co/Ma6B6OGXJe\u201d— Helen Clark (@Helen Clark) 1516314336
\u201cAnd that\u2019s how a working woman announces that she can walk, chew gum, and have babies. Very nicely done. https://t.co/MZtXSm64Kk\u201d— Virginia Trioli (@Virginia Trioli) 1516326676
Her short time off "contrasts with her party's parental leave policies, with the Labour-led coalition expanding paid parental leave from 18 to 22 weeks in one of its first legislative changes," Reutersnotes. "That is set to rise again to 26 weeks in 2020."
"One of the things that I have always talked about, regardless of our circumstances, has been how great it would be for us all to have the pride of knowing that we are one of the best countries to be a child," Ardern said in an interview with NZ Herald Focus.
"I've always been motived by that, and I would be had I not been in these circumstances, and so that remains a goal, and that's what our families package was about," she added, pointing to Labour's ongoing goals related to health, wellbeing, and poverty.
Ardern--who, at 37, is New Zealand's youngest prime minister in recent memory--was sworn in last October, after an intense election season. She and her partner, television presenter Clarke Gayford, found out she was expecting while in the middle of forming the national government.
Ardern will join a short list of women to serve as a nation's elected leader while pregnant; in 1990, Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto gave birth while in office.
From Your Site Articles
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.