On Monday, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu welcomed her third child. Congratulations to Mayor Wu and her family! That’s where the public response to a baby we’re not personally connected to should both begin and end, right? Unfortunately, it hasn’t. Instead, Mayor Wu is facing relentless criticism for her decision not to take maternity leave after the birth.
I could quote some of the comments from recent articles on Boston.com and The Boston Globe to illustrate the backlash, but it’s the same tired rhetoric working mothers have endured for generations.
Mayor Wu, a seasoned parent of three, made this decision early in her pregnancy. She shouldn’t have had to share her plans with the public months ago, but it seems being a working mom often means having to justify your choices. The endless op-eds questioning how she could possibly juggle a newborn, two older children, and her duties to the city feel depressingly familiar. They echo the criticism acting Governor Jane Swift faced in 2001 when she took maternity leave after giving birth to twins.
After welcoming her twins, Swift faced an onslaught of criticism from every corner of the state. She was accused of doing Massachusetts a disservice, wasting taxpayer funds by not working (don’t get me started on the “maternity leave as a vacation” myth), and ignoring her responsibilities. Yet, curiously, the coverage rarely pointed out that Bill Weld knew Swift was pregnant with twins when he handed her the governorship as he become ambassador to Canada. Once again, the blame fell squarely at the woman’s feet for having the audacity to expand her family. Because, of course, we’ve never judged women for not having children either, right?
Naively, I hoped we’d made some progress in the past two decades. I thought, as a community, we’d recognize that mothers don’t owe us explanations for how they balance their careers and their families. Yet, here we are.
The women of Boston — and everywhere — deserve better. In Mayor Wu, we have a proud advocate for paid parental leave and women’s autonomy. She firmly believes all women should have the choice for how they adjust after welcoming a new baby. She made her choice, and we should all respect that it is none of our business.
And for anyone wondering how she feels about the criticism being thrown her way?
“To all saying they’re sorry I’m being forced to prove myself or mad I’m a bad example/enabling a bs system: Appreciate the good intentions, but once again—let every woman make decisions for her own body & family,” she wrote on Bluesky.
We couldn’t agree more, Mayor Wu. Thank you for supporting every woman’s right to do what works for her. And for reminding us all that women — whether in city hall, at home, or anywhere in between — deserve the freedom to define their own paths.
