Punished for parental leave: How generous leave policies can be a trap for working mothers

Mita Mallick was barely a month into her parental leave when she got a call from a friend. “I’m thinking she’s calling to check in on me, and we’re having a nice conversation,” Mallick recounts. Then she asked a question that took Mallick by surprise: So are you not going back to work?Her friend revealed that Mallick’s employer—a large, recognizable public company with a generous five-month leave policy—had posted her job. “I felt like the floor fell out from under me,” Mallick...