Working Women, Don't Rely on the Chinese Zodiac

Happy new year. It's the start of the Chinese new year, or, as they say, the year of the pig (we Japanese prefer to call it the year of the boar). I consulted a few Chinese astrology web sites to see what the year held for us on the workplace front. Here's one forecast:

A year of goodwill to all. An excellent climate for business, and industry in general will prevail. People will be more free and easy on the whole and the complaisant attitude of the Boar will generate a feeling of abundance.

An excellent climate for business! Industry will prevail! A feeling of abundance! Oh...there's a "but."

But in spite of the favorable auspices here, like the Boar we will hesitate, waver and undermine our own abilities when opportunity calls.

Dang. I hate when I do that.

I was born in the year of the boar. That makes me nice to a fault and possessing of impeccable manners and taste but also of a tiny little inclination toward laziness and snobbery (according to this web site).

What that also means is that, being born in the boar year of 1971, I am of prime child-bearing age (at least around these here parts). You may have heard the year of the boar is a particularly fortuitous one in which to give birth. In 2007, the stars align somehow to make this an incredibly lucky year for kids. I learned this from the Korean guy at the gym, but you can read more about it here.

Unluckily for Americans, this is also the year that Congress is taking another look at the Family and Medical Leave Act. Under the act, passed in 1993, workers are allowed to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid time off to tend to a birth, adopted child or ill family member without fear of losing their jobs. Here, from the Miami Herald:

Human resources groups, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups want the Labor Department to tighten the definitions of "serious health condition" and ''intermittent leave.'' Women's and labor groups fear the Bush administration intends to make it more difficult for workers to take extended leaves for serious illnesses or family needs. About 2.4 million Americans took FMLA leave in 2005.

Click here to read more about the FMLA's comment process.

It gets worse. You'll also remember the recently published study from Canada's McGill University and Harvard that found the United States in the pleasant company of Lesotho, Liberia, Swaziland and Papua New Guinea as the only countries out of 173 that didn't guarantee any paid leave for mothers. Of the 168 countries that do, 98 offer 14 or more weeks of paid leave.

Horoscopes are fun. But we working women have more to consider than a zodiac when planning our families. After all, piglets need to eat.