Yahoo chief Marissa Mayer stirs controversy with move to end telecommuting

In a controversial move Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer has put an end to telecommuting at the struggling internet pioneer.

her critics say Mayer, who at 37 is known to be one of Silicon Valley's most notorious workaholics, was hardly the kind of CEO that would appeal to working mothers. She triggered a controversy right from the start at the company, taking the top job at Yahoo when she was five months pregnant and then taking off just two weeks for maternity leave.

When she returne, she had a nursery put up right next to her office at her own expense to be closer to her infant son and put in even longer hours.

Working mothers are now up in arms, as they believe that Mayer was setting them back by taking away their flexible working arrangements. For them, telecommuting offered the only way women short on time could care for young children and advance their careers without the pay, privilege or perks that go with the position of the chief of a Fortune 500 company.

"When a working mother is standing behind this, you know we are a long way from a culture that will honour the thankless sacrifices that women too often make," read one email sent to technology blogger Kara Swisher of AllThingsD, who was the first to write about the ban.

Hundreds of staffers - including those working one or two day a week from home - would have to decide if they wanted to start showing up every day at the office or be out of a job, a memo leaked to Swisher says.