Clare Jones’ Post

The Association Pro Baby Center invites you to the conference “Laptop in One Hand, Bottle in the Other.” The conference aims to encourage higher birth rates while developing a support platform for women, mothers, and fathers in balancing parenthood and career. The conferences will be held with different panelists at two locations: In Belgrade, on Thursday, March 5, 2026, from 12:30 PM to 4:00 PM at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia, Resavska 13–16 (Hall I), and In Novi Sad, on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, from 9:30 AM to 2:00 PM at the Chamber of Commerce of Vojvodina, Braće Popović 5. In 2025, Serbia recorded the lowest number of births since statistics began — 58,445 babies — with a total population of 6,586,476 (Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, 2024). The decline in birth rates is the result of several factors, one of which is that women are often forced to choose between career and parenthood. The conference aims to present examples of good practice and concrete solutions that enable the reconciliation of parenthood and women’s professional development, in the interest of long-term societal well-being. The program includes three panel discussions featuring women who have built successful careers despite numerous challenges such as professional obstacles, relocation, divorce, infertility, and the loss of a child. Concrete solutions available to women and families to support parenthood will also be presented. The event brings together representatives of the business community, members of professional networks, and female entrepreneurs who successfully balance parenthood and career, as well as women who have faced challenges on their path to parenthood. Individuals and couples are welcome. There is no participation fee, but registration is mandatory by February 25. Feel free to invite your friends using the following link: https://lnkd.in/desEqHV5 The project has been supported by the Ministry of Family Welfare and Demography. This event will be hosted in Serbian, and simultaneous translation to English will be provided.

“So… who is going to take care of the baby?” As a (pregnant) business owner, I’ve recently heard variations of the same question more times than I expected. Sometimes the question is polite, sometimes it isn’t, but every time, it comes with the same underlying assumptions: That the answer is obvious: me. That becoming a mother somehow makes a woman less reliable as a professional. Interestingly, nobody asks my husband whether fatherhood will make him less committed to his work. Yet when a woman leads a company, pregnancy suddenly becomes a reason for doubt - about her availability, her ambition, and even the stability of her business. This mindset may be outdated, but it is still very real. Our company has been facing challenges and hesitation from some clients simply because of my pregnancy. In the EU and globally, we speak about equality and the participation of women in business and economics. But real equality is not only about policies. It is about the everyday assumptions we make about competence, commitment, and leadership. And this is not just a personal issue. It reflects something much deeper in the way societies have historically been structured. For centuries (and still today) in many parts of the world women are expected to fulfill one primary role: motherhood. In many countries women still struggle for equal access to education, equal pay, and equal work opportunities. When a society limits women to only one socially acceptable role, it doesn’t only limit women - it limits the entire economy and the future of that society. Excluding half of the population from business, innovation, and decision-making inevitably slows progress. At the same time, there is another paradox we rarely talk about. In societies where women have fewer opportunities outside the family structure, birth rates tend to be higher. But in places (like the EU) where women pursue education, careers, and leadership - birth rates are falling. Why? Because while we have made significant efforts to build equality in education and business - we have often overlooked one fundamental issue, which is directly connected to equality at work: true equality in parenthood Too often, becoming a mother is still perceived as stepping away from professional life, while becoming a father is not expected to change a man’s career trajectory at all. And many modern women understandably hesitate to take on a role that is still widely treated as a 24-hour responsibility carried almost entirely by one parent. Pregnancy is not the end of leadership. Motherhood is not the end of professional contribution. If we want more equal societies, stronger economies, and families that feel supported rather than restricted, we need to be more conscious of how our words and expectations shape the opportunities and confidence of others. Because deeper beliefs about roles, capabilities, and value lie behind that one simple question: “Who is going to take care of the baby?”

"Most existing tools either ignore disability entirely or treat it as a complication to be managed. The APAP flips that script. It says: Your disability is part of who you are, your priorities matter more than protocols, and you deserve care that empowers you, rather than just manages risk.” - Kara Ayers Read Brandeis University's story about our new resource, the Accessible Pregnancy Action Plan: https://lnkd.in/erYMhy_N

One of the most common questions women considering adoption ask is: "Will I see my baby after adoption?" The answer in open adoption is yes, but what that actually looks like often surprises people. Open adoption visits aren't formal or dramatic. They look more like extended family spending time together — a shared meal, a park meet-up, watching a child hit milestones. Birth mothers often describe feeling nervous beforehand and genuinely relieved afterward. What makes open adoption work is clear communication and realistic expectations from the start. That means agreeing on the type of contact, how often, and what feels healthy for everyone involved, especially the child. At Lifetime Adoption, we've seen how the right open adoption plan gives birth mothers something invaluable: the ability to replace worry with reality. Instead of wondering how their child is doing, they get to see it for themselves. If you work in social work, healthcare, counseling, or family services, and you encounter women navigating an unplanned pregnancy, understanding what modern open adoption looks like matters. It's not the closed, secretive process of decades past. Open adoption has changed. And for many birth mothers, that changes everything. #OpenAdoption #AdoptionPlan #ChoosingAdoption #PregnancyOptions #UnplannedPregnancy #DomesticAdoption #AdoptionAgency #LifetimeAdoption

I can't talk about International Women's Day without demanding some necessary improvements for women. We deserve better: -education (being subjected to sexual harassment because you're a girl in a class with boys should not be the norm) -healthcare (backed by clinical trials and studies that use FEMALE bodies) -pregnancy and postpartum care (!!!) -affordable childcare (so we can continue in our careers without sacrificing financial stability) -representation in STEM (so little girls know they can choose a profession based on their smarts, not their sex) -pay (because it's 2026 and not 1956 and women work just as much and as hard as men in the same roles) Invest in women and you invest in the future.

🔹 Maternity Leave in India: A Right, Not a Privilege 🔹 On the auspicious occasion of a festival celebrating the strength, resilience, and nurturing power of the feminine it is only fitting to reflect on a significant legal development that reinforces these very values. In a progressive shift, the has strengthened the framework of maternity rights, placing dignity and equality at the forefront. 📌 Key Developments: ✅ Adoptive Mothers Recognised Equally Motherhood is no longer confined to biology — the Court has ensured that adoptive mothers receive equal maternity benefits, irrespective of the child’s age. ✅ Maternity Leave = Fundamental Right Recognised as an integral part of reproductive rights under Article 21 — not a favour, but a constitutional guarantee. ✅ No Denial for Third Child In **, the Court clarified that policies like the “two-child norm” cannot override a woman’s fundamental rights. ✅ Inclusivity Beyond Biological Motherhood The law now embraces adoption and surrogacy — reaffirming that caregiving and bonding define motherhood. ⚖️ Why This Matters: As we worship the divine feminine during Navratri, this evolution in law reflects a deeper societal recognition empowering women is not symbolic, it must be structural and enforceable. 💬 A reminder that POSH is protective, not punitive without proof… and similarly, maternity rights are protective, not discretionary. ✨ This Navratri, let us not just celebrate Shakti in spirit, but uphold it in law and practice. #Navratri #MaternityRights #Shakti #SupremeCourt #LegalAwareness #GenderJustice #WorkplaceEquality

Hi, Are you recently married? Thinking about purchasing a home together? Having a plan for your short-, mid-, and long-term goals can be a powerful roadmap for building the life you want. Have you thought about starting a family? Whether that means adoption, surrogacy, or planning for the future, putting the right financial and legal plans in place early can make a big difference—including setting up college savings for your children. As part of the LGBTQ community, my wife and I have personally navigated many of these milestones. When we adopted our boys, the laws were different, and we had to jump through more than a few hoops. Our estate planning was also far more expensive than it needed to be. Those experiences are a big part of why I’m passionate about helping other LGBTQ families plan ahead and avoid some of the challenges we faced. Have you recently switched jobs and are wondering what to do with an old 401(k)? Are you approaching retirement and interested in learning tax-efficient strategies that can help you keep more of what you’ve worked so hard to build? Are you curious about insurance and what type of coverage you should have in place to protect your family and your future? If you’d like to take a step forward, I’m here. There’s no obligation—just a conversation about where you are today and how my team and I can help you move toward your goals. Feel free to reach out Jen LGBTQFinancialPlanning #LGBTQFamilies #PrideInPlanning #InclusiveFinance #EstatePlanning #AdoptionJourney #RetirementPlanning

A defining moment for parenthood: Supreme Court removes age cap on Maternity Leave for adoptive mothers & A major win for equality and modern families! On March 17, 2026 in a significant judgment (Hamsaanandini Nanduri v. Union of India), the Supreme Court has declared Section 60(4) of the Social Security Code, 2020, unconstitutional [Section 5(4) of the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 (“MB Act”) as amended by the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017 ( “Amendment Act, 2017”)]. This provision unfairly restricted 12 weeks of paid maternity leave to mothers adopting a child under the age of three months. Previously, the provision laid down that adoptive mothers will be eligible for maternity leave only if they adopt children who are less than 3 months old. The Court's Powerful Reasoning: The bench of Justices Pardiwala and Mahadevan held that parenthood is not confined to the biological act of giving birth. They stated, A mother takes birth the day a child comes into her life. The judgment emphasized that the purpose of maternity leave is to nurture the bond between mother and child, a need that is universal for all mothers: biological, surrogate, or adoptive. This ruling is a more compassionate understanding of family. It sends a clear message that the law must protect and support all paths to parenthood equally. Furthermore, the apex court also asked the Centre to come out with a provision recognizing paternity leave as a social security benefit. Also court added certain observations as below: When family structures and modes of parenthood have evolved and diversified, parenthood is not confined to the biological act of giving birth. It includes a broader spectrum of choices through which individuals realize their aspiration to build a family. Thus, an atypical or unconventional familial setup does not strip away the rights guaranteed by the Constitution. In the aforesaid context, reproductive autonomy, therefore, cannot be narrowly understood as being limited to biological reproduction alone. Adoption, too, represents a conscious and meaningful exercise of the choice to create and nurture a family, and must be viewed as falling within the broader spectrum of reproductive decision making, the Court stated. The Court added, The choice to bring a child into one's life may also manifest through non-biological means such as adoption, which equally reflects an individual's autonomy in matters of parenthood and family formation. A mother takes birth the day a child comes into her life. While the day of the entry of the child in the mother's life slightly varies in case of biological route of attainment of motherhood, what follows after the coming of the child in the mother's life is a universal feeling, shared by all mothers whether adoptive, surrogate or biological. #LegalUpdate #ConstitutionalLaw #FamilyLaw #AdoptionInIndia #MaternityRights #SocialJustice

Family planning looks different today than it did a generation ago, and financial planning should evolve with it. For many women and couples, the path to building a family may include a range of possibilities: career timing, fertility options, adoption, surrogacy, or creating the financial stability needed to say yes when the time feels right. These are deeply personal decisions, but they are also deeply connected to financial planning. This is especially true for LGBTQ+ individuals and couples, whose family-building journeys often require even more intentional financial preparation and support. A thoughtful plan should create options — not limitations. It should support the life you want to build and the family you hope to create.

‘I think it’s important for us all to recognise the issues surrounding maternity and pregnancy in the workplace’🎙️ This year for International Women’s Day we spoke to Emily who is a Geo-Environmental Consultant at GGS. We spoke about navigating maternity leave in a male dominated industry. It’s incredibly important to hear different perspectives on these topics so we can keep uplifting women in STEM careers. Have a listen to what Emily had to say and share your own experience below. #InternationalWomensDay #Maternity #IWD