This week I had the honor to sit down to a Facebook chat with some very intelligent and accomplished women through Independent Women’s Voices. IWV is an organization dedicated to addressing issues that affect women using free market solutions and public policy.

Host Ericka Anderson led the discussion between myself and GOP Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, Heritage editor Michelle Cordero, IWV’s Hadley Heath Manning, and Catholic blogger Cassy Chesser.

We talked about being working mothers and finding work-life balance (SPOILER ALERT: I have none) and how we handle being conservative women in the public sphere. We also talked about “paid family leave”, with McDaniel laying out the GOP’s plan to support women in the workplace. We discussed different options (Cordero’s “flex hours” suggestion was particularly notable) for employers to support working mothers.

(Video to follow below)

As a working mother I certainly appreciate that my employers value family and respect my need to prioritize my family above all else. However, I don’t consider it their obligation in any way to do so. And certainly I’m loathe to bring the government into all this in any way, shape or form.

“I don’t think it’s anyone’s obligation to make our lives easier for us. I think when we choose to go into the workplace, we are choosing a path that is more difficult for ourselves, because we’re moms and being a mom when your kids are younger is way different than being a dad when the kids are younger. Sometimes we have to make the sacrifices, we don’t necessarily need to expect our employers to make the sacrifices for us.”

Like I said, it is nice when our employers do make accommodations for us as women and mothers. I believe it is good business practice. It breeds loyalty and solid work ethic. The benefits far outweigh the negatives. That being said, these are the type of benefits that should be exclusively within the purview of any employer and the government has no business inserting itself into the relationship between an employer and potential employee as they negotiate benefits and expectations. These are all considerations best left to the people who actually know what their businesses need and can afford.

It’s always great to talk with other mothers in an environment that isn’t judgmental or harsh. I encourage any mother to check out our talk and chime in.