A Silicon Valley venture capitalist says that men who take six months of paternity leave are ‘losers’ and that ‘in the old days men had babies and worked harder to provide for their future’ which was ‘the correct masculine response.’
Joe Lonsdale weighed into the raging debate sparked by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s decision to take paternity leave after he and his husband, Chasten, welcomed adopted twins into their family.
Buttigieg was criticized for taking paid time off while the country continues to suffer from the effects of a major logjam at ports that has exacerbated the supply chain crisis.
Buttigieg, 39, has been on paid leave since mid-August to spend time with his family.
Silicon Valley venture capitalist Joe Lonsdale (left) weighed into the raging debate sparked by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s (right) decision to take paternity leave after he and his husband, Chasten, welcomed adopted twins into their family
Buttigieg, 39, and his husband Chasten, 32, have recently adopted twins, Joseph and Penelope, which they officially announced on September 4. Earlier this month, it was learned that Pete Buttigieg was on paid paternity leave
Lonsdale says that men who take six months of paternity leave are ‘losers’ and that ‘in the old days men had babies and worked harder to provide for their future’ which was ‘the correct masculine response.’
Lonsdale, a co-founder of global software giant Palantir Technologies and current managing partner of 8VC, was reacting on Wednesday to a segment on Joe Rogan’s podcast, which is streamed daily on Spotify.
Rogan agreed with Lonsdale’s view that men should not be entitled to paid time off to spend with their newborn children.
His guest, stand-up comic Bridget Phetasy, disagreed.
'This idea that both parents should get maternity and paternity leave at the same time is a little weird,' Rogan, the host of the popular Spotify podcast, said.
Phetasy disagreed, saying that her relatives in Germany were given significant time off to spend with their newborn.
'That's great. You wanna live in Germany? Because in America you gotta work,' Rogan replied.
Lonsdale, a co-founder of global software giant Palantir Technologies and current managing partner of 8VC, was reacting on Wednesday to a segment on Joe Rogan’s podcast, which is streamed daily on Spotify. Rogan (left) agreed with Lonsdale’s view that men should not be entitled to paid time off to spend with their newborn children. His guest, stand-up comic Bridget Phetasy (right), disagreed
Rogan also noted that small business owners do not have the luxury of taking paternity leave since they're required to keep running their business.
He said that while fathers should play a role in raising children, that doesn't mean they should be allowed paternity leave.
Phetasy pushed back, saying: 'It's not just about the baby, the mom needs support in the aftermath of giving birth. It's not just to bond with the kid.'
She added: 'It feels like we don’t have to same social cohesion and family structures that we used to have.'
Phetasy lamented that families and extended families no longer live near each other, making it harder to support young mothers who give birth.
Rogan added: 'We're not in Europe, this is better. This is America.
'We're not in Europe, and for America, this is a new concept … When someone in government, who is a man, who didn't give birth, and there is two of them, and they both are off work and they get free money or what happens?'
The exchange between Rogan and Phetasy was reported by Mediaite.
Lonsdale's tweet provoked several reactions, including one from fellow tech mogul Alexis Ohanian, the co-founder of Reddit and the husband of tennis legend Serena Williams.
Lonsdale's tweet provoked several reactions, including one from fellow tech mogul Alexis Ohanian, the co-founder of Reddit and the husband of tennis legend Serena Williams. Ohanian responded to Lonsdale by linking to a news story about the benefits he gained from his paternity leave
Ohanian responded to Lonsdale by linking to a news story about the benefits he gained from his paternity leave.
'The correct masculine response is to do whatever it takes for your family + newborn,' he wrote.
'No one should have to choose between the ICU/NICU and keeping their job.'
Garry Tan, the co-founder of tech firm Initialized Capital, agreed with Ohanian, tweeting: ‘Initialized has 4 months leave, and I took all 4 months to make sure everyone at Initialized felt like they could do it.
‘Respect that people have different choices, but being a dad is awesome and there is more to life than work and money.’
Garry Tan, the co-founder of tech firm Initialized Capital, agreed with Ohanian, tweeting: ‘Initialized has 4 months leave, and I took all 4 months to make sure everyone at Initialized felt like they could do it.
‘Respect that people have different choices, but being a dad is awesome and there is more to life than work and money.’
Lonsdale responded
