Making The American Workforce A Friendly Place For Women And Families

Becoming a parent is beautiful yet stressful time in many people's lives. Emotions of joy and worry fill the mind of expecting parents as they work to provide a loving and financially stable home for their family. Both parents wish to actively support their child and their spouse during this time of transition, however, corporations are making this task difficult. Maternity leave is a benefit that most companies provide, but only for their female employees. Male employees are not given the same opportunity to share the responsibility of childcare with their wife or to develop a bond early on with their child. Providing fathers maternity leave would give them time to dedicate themselves to the growth of their child, allow the mother to heal from giving birth, and promote equality within the family unit and in the workplace.

As we move into the new millennium more and more employers are allowing, some are even encouraging, their employees to bring their newborn babies to work with them. This is probably one of the greatest changes in child care norms that this country has seen in the past 30 years. Once upon a time, when a woman had a baby she almost always quit her job to raise her child, depending on her husband to support her and her child. Then along came the idea of maternity leave. This is when a woman takes a certain amount of time off to be with newborn. Once this time period was up, the woman still had a job to go back to. This meant that women no longer had to rely on their husbands for support. Unfortunately it also

The United States is the only country among 41 others that does not legally stipulate paid maternity leave, which leaves this legislation at the discretion of the individual states (Livingston, 2016). Currently, parents in California are covered by California State Disability Insurance, and receive 55% of their salary for six weeks (“About Paid Family Leave (PFL),” n.d.). California is one of four states that supplement the national Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, which guarantees unpaid maternity leave for 12 weeks (“Why So Few Women Take Maternity Leave | Time.com,” n.d.). It is my recommendation that the California House of Representatives vote to pass bill AB-568, an assembly bill that allows public school and community college employees fully paid maternity leave.

Pregnancy and early child development is a fundamental aspect of human society, and is pertinent to the development of a successfully functioning community. The developmental and social progress of any civilization relies on children, as they will compose the future working population. Therefore, a mother or father’s involvement in the child’s development is of extreme importance, which is why family leave has been implemented all over the world. Family leave refers to the period of time granted to the employee to care for their newborn child. As communities evolve economically, financial stability is necessary, for what is perceived to be socially successful for a child’s development, which is why paid family leave is popular throughout the world’s nations. However, ABC News reports that “the U.S. is only one of three countries in the world that don't offer paid maternity leave” (Kim, 2015); the same is true for paternity leave. The United States government has an interesting track record dealing with family leave, but in order to analyze what the US government and advocacy groups have done to solve this issue, there first needs to be an understanding on why this issue is so difficult to resolve. The arguments that support and oppose paid family leave in the United States are equally valid, therefore causing a stalemate in the attempted policy making of legislative bodies.

The Urban Institute published a case study that promotes the creation of national paid family leave policy in the United States. In the study, it is shown that this issue has been debated countless times in the past. George H.W. Bush even vetoed an unpaid family leave act during his presidency. This displays the struggles of enacting policy relating to this issue. The lack of a national paid family leave program in the US has left working mothers with three options: “return to work immediately after childbirth, quit employment, or take unpaid leave” (Urban Institute, 2017, p.3). The issue with these options include, loss of pay, unemployment, or the lack of parental presence in a child’s early development. Moreover, although some private companies offer paid leave, less educated and lower income mother have little access to this paid leave, which exacerbates their financial instability, keeping them in a lower societal class. This study found that not only is the current system is inadequate, but it is also inequitable, which causes financial hardships across the nation. According to the study, there has even been a 32% decrease in income after childbirth. Although this is the current situation, some states have enacted a statewide paid family leave program, which displays

Today, the United States’ policy for maternal leave remains the same as it was in 1993, when the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was passed (Rubin 2016). As a means to go beyond the FMLA, three states have

The lack of a paid parental leave law in the country does not necessarily mean that it is absent in the U.S. labor market. Some generous and more progressive companies do recognize the importance of the leave to employees and do offer it. According to the Employee Benefits Survey of 2015, 21% of employers nationally offer some paid maternity leave while 17% offer some paid paternity/adoption leave. However, about a fifth don’t have any kind of protected maternity, paternity, or adoptive leave. (Ray, 8; Time, n. pag.)

A new born baby should always be welcomed with open arms excitement, not with fear. On this paper, I want to talk why having a paid parental leave in the united states is something that we need. This topic is of high interest to me because they are only a few countries around the world who don’t offer paid parental leave and the united states is one of them. As a person who wants to start a family in a future, not having paid parental leave can affect me in many ways. For instance, without paid parental leave and with the current parental leave policy, were parents only get 12 weeks of unpaid parental leave; will have to go back to work to make sure that we are not be set back financially. Leaving my 12-week infant at a day care, without a

In 2017, the U.S. News and World Report analyzed and classified sixty countries by their wealth and nine categories of national attributes (adventure, citizenship, cultural influence, entrepreneurship, heritage, open for business, moves, powers, and quality of life). From this ranking, the United States classifies as number four in the best country to live in because of its high cultural influence, entrepreneurship, and quality of life (U.S. News and World Report, 2017). Yet, it is the only industrialized country that does not pay for maternity leave (Human Rights Watch, 2011, book). For example, while Germany grants soon to be mothers a 14 week (paid) period to bond with their child, in the U.S., women only have three unpaid months of maternal leave and many have to rely on the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for job security while they are away (The Huffington Post Canada, 2012). Consequently, mothers are not able to stay at home with their newborns and provide their full attention during these imperative days without having economic repercussions. This is problematic because 57% of employees are women and 70% of these women are mothers (U.S. Department of Labor, 2015). The bulk of the evidence suggests that paid maternity leave can bring benefits to both the child and the mother. I will present evidence on why mothers should have paid maternity leave.

Two unlikely countries have one unlikely thing in common. The United States of America and Papua New Guinea are the only two countries worldwide that do not have paid maternity leave. The United States’ effort to pass paid maternity leave goes back to the 1920s. In the years since, most other countries have guaranteed a salary for mothers taking time off, and some even cover father’s paternity leaves. Through countries with paid leave, we have learned the many ways paid leave helps babies, parents, and entire families (Rubin 1). So why has the United States not yet created a paid leave mandate? In 1993, President Bill Clinton signed into law the Family and Medical Leave Act. This act mandates a minimum of twelve weeks of unpaid leave for qualifying reasons, including the birth of a child (White House 4). When I was born, my mother was given the opportunity, through her work, to apply for disability insurance. The insurance, paid for by her employer, covered pay for approximately 70% of her salary for six weeks of leave. There was no pay given for the other six weeks provided for by the Family and Medical Leave Act. My mother’s employer gave her many health benefits and the flexibility she needed when she had her children.

The legal basis for maternity leave in the United States are relatively new, with a dramatic rise in women’s participation in the labor force. A 1994 census indicates that, of married women with infants under 1 year of age, 55% were employed (Bachu, 1995). For those women with young children who are employed, the majority (65%) return to work shortly after the birth of their child, and most work full time (Hayghe, 1986). In light of these statistics for maternal employment, child and family advocates have pushed for parental leave legislation and supportive policies in employment settings.

Significance: The work schedule of a women has drastically changed over the years. Women in this day of age are better educated and many are more interested of working rather than having and taking care of children. Companies who just think that a woman at some point will have to take a break off work is very stereotypical and because of how common it is, it is no surprise companies do that. Companies just want to make money, and they will find any way to save it. Giving fathers to get parental leave is very unexpected, however, it is redefining the stereotypes of men and women. This plan will also give fathers to have the chance to spend time with their children at a young age. Mothers, on the other hand, will finally have the chance to be in a father 's position to finally get the equality, work time, and pay that they deserve and have been longing for.

Due to these consequences pushed upon women for being biologically tasked with carrying children, paid leave for mothers to create equal opportunity for both genders. This is especially for low income women, as paid leave assures they are able to survive financially while having a child, as motherhood is not a reason a woman should have to take on excess credit card debt. Additionally, paid leave is important to all women, as careers should not be stopped in their tracks involuntarily due to motherhood. Yet paid leave, which

Claims being made for maternity paid leave is that it can help stabilize families’ income, and increase the percentage number of women in the workforce. Paid maternity leave can have a good effect on working women’s careers, well-being and families. Current times, women are the primary source of income for almost half the nation. More women are becoming the breadwinners for their families, () Therefor granting paid maternity leave can be a source of help, and a worthy choice in America. The truth is many working families in the United States cannot afford maternity leave being unpaid. And overall, more time being spent with newborn can help increase the chance that mothers have time to breastfeeding. The chance will induce healthier and happier babies. The mother child bond is more critical than any politician claim speech about business in America. Politicians allocate the issue can

Paid maternity leave provides a myriad of benefits for not only the woman, but the family all together. One of the benefits of paid maternal leave is the significant decrease in infant mortality rates. In a 2011 study conducted by the NIH, “An