For one: even with maternity leave, there's an unspoken expectation that women will work through it. It's like a badge of honor. 3 days after giving birth, a lobbyist reached out to my office and said, "I know Mallory's on leave but can we get 1:1 time this week?"

I had JUST given birth. I was still very much in early recovery. I was still bleeding, raw, exhausted, and barely able to move.

A nurse in the hospital said, "Imagine posting on Facebook that you were picking up a 3 day old puppy?..."

"... You'd be lambasted and rightfully so for taking a puppy from its mother far too soon. But we don't treat HUMAN BEINGS with the same scrutiny. You're expected to give birth and get back to work. It's madness."

The state of Michigan offers 12 weeks of family leave to state employees. As a legislator, I don't technically qualify as the legislature oversees itself and sets its own rules... And there's no mechanism for proxy or remote voting. https://www.michigan.gov/whitmer/0,9309,7-387-90499-541153--rss,00.html

But I'm going to take the full 12 weeks. Especially for those of us who advocate and push for family leave, we can't say one thing and do another. We have to normalize work that supports working families...or things will never change.

This is a political risk. I know that. If I miss a vote in-person, expect it to be an attack ad against me in 2022. But are we okay with the message that working moms cannot be legislators? That we don't want anyone in office who understands being a parent or caretaker?

I talked about this experience and challenge with @StatesideRadio a few weeks ago... When I was actually in the earliest phase of labor. (Scroll to the bottom for my segment) https://www.michiganradio.org/post/stateside-sen-peters-impeachment-job-loss-and-union-gains-women-working-during-pandemic

More to come... But suffice it to say this experience has already been life-changing. We are failing women and families, and as a result, failing ourselves and our state, country, and economy. I'm one person, but I hope my experience will help change the conversation

One last thought...in 2018 I knocked on a door in Troy and spoke to a woman in her 50s. I told her I was running to be her state Senator. She asked me if I had any kids and when I planned to have them and how many...

She said, "I'm sorry. I can't vote for you. I need to know my Senator will be in their office full-time actually doing the job."

My opponent owned another business and split his time with his role as a legislator. But the implication was that a mom couldn't do it.

I think about this conversation every day. It eats at me. And another woman executive I know who said, "Women can have it all... Just not all at once."

Are they right? I hope not. But I know for so many women, the current system makes it unsustainable.

BTW, we hosted a virtual coffee hour to peel the layers back and show how our office works... It takes a team and even if I'm out on family leave, the work for our constituents goes on, uninterrupted.