Intense workplace competition, inadequate child care and widespread job discrimination against pregnant women have made childbearing an unappealing prospect for many.
ROME When the Italian volleyball player Lara Lugli got pregnant, she knew she would lose her job.
But when her club refused a request for some pay she claimed was owed to her, she brought a lawsuit. The club responded by accusing her of causing financial damage and ruining her team’s season, and she decided to speak out.
She denounced her treatment on Facebook on Sunday, triggering outrage across Italy and a national conversation that was a long time coming. Her case was a call to action in a country where many paid female athletes have lacked legal protections against discrimination for decades, and where all too often women must still choose between motherhood or jobs.
Biden must make good on his promise to support families with sick loved ones.
By Kate Washington
Ms. Washington is the author of a forthcoming book on caregiving. A dining critic at The Sacramento Bee, she has cared for her husband for six years through his treatment for lymphoma, a stem-cell transplant and chronic illness.
Feb. 22, 2021
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Five years ago I stood in a tiny hospital room wondering how I was going to care for the man I loved most without succumbing to despair.
For four months, my husband, Brad, had been recovering from a stem-cell transplant that saved his life from aggressive lymphoma. The hospital administration said he must go home, but he needed a level of support that, I thought, only a hospital could provide.