RantCrush Top 5: August 2, 2017

Jacinda Ardern, 37, was just unanimously elected as the leader of her country’s Labour Party. She’s the youngest leader of the party to date and only the second woman to lead it. She could potentially become the prime minister of New Zealand. But almost immediately after her election, she was asked about whether she plans to have children.

via GIPHY

Ardern was asked whether she intended to have children by Mark Richardson, a talk show host. He asked “If you are the employer of a company you need to know that type of thing from the woman you are employing … the question is, is it OK for a PM to take maternity leave while in office?” According to the footage of the encounter, she was visibly upset, and responded: “It is totally unacceptable in 2017 to say that women should have to answer that question in the workplace, it is unacceptable, it is unacceptable.[…] It is a woman’s decision about when they choose to have children and it should not predetermine whether or not they are given a job or have job opportunities.”

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.