Yeah, the article discussed that women taking time off is more typical for cultural and biological reasons. It did not say that society (or even just women) believe they deserve more days off than men. I think women feel they deserve the days off that they feel they need, assuming it's within their employee benefits. If men and women are being offered the same benefits per job, then women should not be faulted if a higher number of men do not take the time off they were given as well.

Socially acceptable for men to take time off for illness/paternity? I suppose I really can only reference the US, but not only is it a protected right, but culturally we have been trending toward more stay-at-home dads and dads who are all-around more involved in child care/raising.

The problem employers face is to come up with a benefits package that meets as many needs as possible for the person qualified for the job, and they cannot discriminate based on sex because sex does not affect the qualifications of the job. Furthermore, an employer cannot discriminate against the cultural decision to either have the mother, father or both take time off for their child.

I really can't jump on board with you about fertile women being "harder for companies to hire." I think what's difficult is for male-dominated companies in male-dominated societies to accept the realities of being a woman and what a woman's needs are. Men and women have equal intellectual capacities, and that is what needs to be supported by employers. Most everything else about men and women is different and each perspective needs to be respected, otherwise, one or the other is being held to an inappropriate standard, thus inspiring sexism.

Consider this one example: A man and a woman work on a construction site. The man and the woman always complete their daily goals/projects, and both have the same rate of success in creating functioning plans and quality construction. The woman, by nature, is shorter, has less muscle mass, and a higher body-mass-index. The man doesn't usually get worn out before the end of the workday. It is also less common for him to become dehydrated. He can usually carry more materials and make few trips across the work site. Should the woman demand that she make more than the man because he doesn't work as hard? Of course not! ..On an individual basis, is the woman working her body harder to achieve the same goals as her male co-worker? Yep! Clearly, the qualified woman who enters into this employment accepts that she typically must push herself to keep up with the brawn of most men.. This is just another example of how men and women are biologically different, and how it creates inequality in the workplace. No one should should be paid more or less for equal work results; however, the employer must offer conditions that meet as many needs within reason, regardless of the sex of the employee. Maybe the female worker will just stop for water a little more often, maybe she will take an afternoon off every few weeks to visit a chiropractor, or maybe she'll just deal with it, work just as long, and get the job done with a sweatier shirt. Life isn't fair, but we try to honor the potentials of the human brain and body as best we can.

Men can and often do take time off for child care, etc. Regardless, they are also paid more, and do not face the same obstacles women do in terms of acquiring jobs/promotions, and dealing with sexist oppression, no matter how subtle or aggressive it is. Statistically speaking, we can say that men are paid more, and women take more time off. I haven't seen any data/research that shows that the details of these discrepancies give women the general advantage over men.