Najat Vallaud-Belkacem Quotes

As Minister for Women and Equalities, I introduced shared parental leave, extended flexible working rights and won government support to bring in gender pay gap reporting. I'm not going to lie: it was a constant battle.

Women had to deal with the men's response when the women wanted more time out of the home; men now must deal with the women's response as men want more time in.

Society has not been set up in a way that allows women to go back to work after taking time off. Many women now have to work as well as do everything at home and no one can do everything. Society needs to find a way of relieving women.

I'm fighting to make childcare more affordable for working parents so they can continue working and advancing their careers, closing wage gaps that for too long have held women back from the fair economic opportunities they need.

If the feminist program goes to pieces on the arrival of the first baby, it's false and useless.

I'm proud to be Secretary of Labor. But I'm even prouder of two more important titles: dad and husband. I've been able to be all three. I want all working people, no matter what their jobs are, to be able to meet their obligations both at work and at home.

I believe employment regulations for women, whereby the prospective employer is not able to inquire about the interviewee's status regarding children, childcare, or indeed their intention of becoming a parent, are counterproductive.

It is easy but inaccurate to label any legislation which makes it easier for working families to combine family and work responsibilities 'job killers.'

Maternity leave and parental leave is absolutely vital for strengthening families. It's an issue for men and women.

In German science, we have a special problem. We lose talented women at the time they get pregnant. Some of it occurs because they are encouraged - by their husbands, bosses and the government - to take long maternity leaves.

… women owe, first of all, a duty to their families. If they can so arrange their lives as to add an eight-hour job in a factory, then they should, and we should take our hats off to them.

I think that the female workforce is so valuable. And if we're going to champion women in the workforce, which our economy seems to want to do, we have to deal with the realities, which is that they have children, and they need a way to take care of their children in a supportive work environment.

If you want to have high-powered career women who have families, you need to provide options for them in terms of childcare.

Companies must put infrastructure in place to support their female employees and ensure that they receive the benefits of male and female leadership.

The biggest barrier for women is the thought that they can't have it all.

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.

To create a society that is supportive of child-rearing parents is a role of the government, and we are also working to realize a society where women can shine.

Family policy is not a zero-sum game: any gain for dads need not come at the expense of mums.

I gradually understood why European mothers aren't in perpetual panic about their work-life balance and don't write books about how executive moms should just try harder: Their governments are helping them - and doing it competently.

I am very blessed to have this experience of being a parent, but do not negate me from this industry because I am a parent.

We have seen a lot of barriers removed for women like myself with young children to be able to run for office.

If colleges and universities are really concerned about women's rights, then they must adjust to a far more flexible structure to allow young women students to take leaves of absence if they want to have children early.

You can't be a great mum and work the whole time necessarily; those two things aren't ideal. We have an awful lot to work on and to debate about in relation to our working lives, because it isn't working for a lot of people, particularly for a lot of women.

We found that when people put this issue on the table, it turns out that men acknowledge the issue, and employers and employees can work out solutions just as working mothers do.

But the problem is that when I go around and speak on campuses, I still don't get young men standing up and saying, 'How can I combine career and family?'