Feminist movements have elevated women’s status through the decades, ushering in a time when American women are afforded many freedoms. But certain freedoms seem to only apply to one group of women – those who choose not to have children.

Loyola’s sub-par maternal leave policy embodies the “glass ceiling” that women have yet to break through. The university’s eight-week-long maternal leave only kicks in on the day of delivery. All other time off must be taken from accrued sick leave or vacation time. Human resources said the policy seeks to remain consistent with sick or disability policies of other universities – which, in essence, equates giving birth to sickness or disability.

While it’s already difficult to take off work for an extended period of time, the fact that women who want to take advantage of maternal leave face reduced pay worsens their situations.

And not only will these women find themselves at a financial disadvantage upon their return to work, there will also be a substantial workload awaiting them, as well as the realization that they have probably missed out on a lot of job-related opportunities for advancement. Maternal leave policies perpetuate a male-dominated workforce, since these policies leave women at such a distinct disadvantage. Even more upsetting is that the United States is the only industrialized nation that does not require paid maternal leave.

According to Anne Crittendon’s book “The Price of Motherhood,” France – which is among many of the other nations that trump the U.S.’s social policies – allows mothers a year’s worth of paid maternity leave. Every French mother, even single mothers, are also given a cash allowance for each child. This results in an earning gap between mothers and childless women of only about eight to 10 percent, compared to 20 percent for their counterparts in the U.S.

This issue has been largely ignored by candidates in the early stages of the 2008 presidential election, which indicates that it may be a long time until the U.S. adopts a family-leave policy more accommodating than that outlined by 1993’s Family and Medical Leave Act.

However, Loyola should take some measures to make changes on a smaller scale by offering a university maternal leave policy more conducive to having both healthy work and family lives. Women may have a choice to pursue family lives or careers, but what good is this choice if choosing one realm ultimately compromises success in the other?