Returning from mat leave

I work for a large tech company. Before I gave birth I spoke with the CEO of the company to discuss my next role when I return from maternity leave. I had excellent review on my performance before that and was on a good trajectory.

His response was that there is no reason to discuss this now as I may decide to stay home with my newborn and not return to work. Of course I asked him if he would give the same suggestion to a male colleague who would come to discuss this with him before becoming a father. He did not have a good answer to that.