A text message accusing a new mother of “collecting salary while sitting on your ass” that went viral last week said everything about how care continues to be devalued, as well as the expectations of gratitude that continue to load on women when they take paid parental leave.

When a new mother returned from parental leave to her law firm in Cleveland, Ohio, she received the above comments in a single message from a male colleague, who also went on to call out the woman’s “character”, describe her as “soulless and morally bankrupt” and threaten to attack her reputation to anyone who makes “inquiries” about her.

So what did the new mother do to stir such a reaction?

She resigned from her job at the firm Zashin & Rich, shortly after returning from leave.

The message sender also went on to declare he had “suspicions” that she had been interviewing for a new role two months ago, and he told another colleague (who appears to be the managing partner of the firm) to “cut you loose at that time” if she confirmed that she had.

The message went viral after being posted to LinkedIn (with the receiver’s consent, who remains unnamed) by Kelley Barnett, another US-based attorney. Her post has since sparked thousands of comments, numerous opinion pieces, and editorials across the United States, and came to our attention here thanks to Lawyers Weekly, quoting Australian lawyers who highlight how the message is disappointing but not surprising, reflecting how parental leave can be a...

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