Romina Pourmokhtari has just finished her maternity leave. But being separated from Adam, her three-month-old son, was not an option. So Sweden’s Minister for the Environment made a decision that few female officials would have dared to make: she took him with her to the meeting of European Union ministers. 👶
And there he was, barely 90 days old, in the middle of a room full of diplomats and cameras. According to the EU Council, Adam is the first baby to take part in a meeting of this kind in the entire history of the body. In Europe, the practice is allowed, and Sweden offers up to 16 months of paid parental leave, financed by the country’s taxes. Romina made the most of every day of that right before returning. ✨
What many mothers feel but few can do, she did in front of the continent’s leaders. Not as a symbolic gesture, but for what it was: a mother who loves her job and her son equally, and who does not understand why she should have to choose between the two. 💛