Women have the wonderful ability to bring a new life into this world and are granted maternity leave, a certain amount of time after birth to be away from the labor force. However, maternity leave was not always available to women because of the low levels of employed and educated females. In 1978 changing gender norms and increased female labor involvement influenced the passing of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act prohibiting employment discrimination of women due to pregnancy (Smith, Downs, and O’Connell 3). After this legislation, a higher percentage of women in the United States were not only educated but also employed. In 1987, a critical Supreme Court case (California Federal Savings and Loan Association v. Guerra) in California defined …show more content…
The “family wage gap” is the notion that women with children earn less than women without children (Detcher 97). On average, a woman spends five to six months on maternity leave, time spent out of the workforce after childbirth, which is the main factor contributing to the family wage gap (Detcher 99). Detcher attempts to discover tangible reasons for the gap recognizable after maternity leave such as the depreciation of women’s human capital, decrease in hours they work, and effort they exert. The results conclude that after child birth, the hourly wage decreases by about four percent, the hours women work after maternity leave are seven percent lower than before child birth, and the effort after maternity leave is consistent but is dependent upon the individual (Detcher 99). The length of maternity leave has a direct influence on the family wage gap, revealing a depreciation of post-motherhood …show more content…
In the United States, a third of mothers return to work within three months of childbirth compared to only five percent in other industrialized nations such as Germany, Sweden, and the UK (Berger, Hill, and Waldfogel 29). The rapid return of mothers to the workforce sparked interest in the effects the return has on the child’s behavior and health. The experiments measure the child’s health and development by the amount of time the mother breastfeeds, the immunizations the child receives, their score on a vocabulary test, behavioral problems, and the amount of doctor’s visits (Berger, Hill, and Waldfogel 36). Mothers who returned to work within twelve weeks were less likely to breastfeed their child, provide as many doctor’s visits and immunizations, and there were more noticeable behavioral problems at age four (Berger, Hill, and Waldfogel 39-42). The data is significantly lower for mother’s who work full time within twelve weeks after maternity leave (Berger, Hill, and Waldfogel 43). Therefore, it is proved that the duration of maternity leave is directly correlated with children development and
Harrison, L. J. and Ungerer, J. A., (2002). Maternal Employment and Infant-Mother Attachment Security at 12 Months Postpartum. Developmental Psychology, Vol. 38, No. 5, 758-773.
Even to this day, women have not reached maximum equality, but the landmark Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade has helped the women’s equality movement drastically take a step in the right direction. Prior to the case, women had their rights very limited and restricted. Everyone was and still is entitled to their basic rights, however pregnant women were not. Their first, fourth, fifth, ninth, and fourteenth amendment rights were violated and were not addressed until Jane Roe testified in court. The decision made by the court still has a lasting impact even to this day. The landmark Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade was not just a win for Jane Roe, but a win for all women as it helped break the barrier that surrounded women’s equality.
In older times, many women had to leave their job due to newly motherhood and having to care for their child, but that number has dropped significantly.
The wage gap is a major issue that is constantly brought up in the work place. Numerous people use the term “wage gap” to state how gender can affect somebody 's income. There has always been an understanding that men typically made more money than women. For a long time, women were not allowed to work; therefore men were in charge of “bringing home the bacon”. However, times have changed and there are various situations where a household is centered off a women’s’ income. Females can become single mothers who have a responsibility to care for a child(s). Responsibilities can include monthly payments of water and electric bills and even weekly payments towards groceries. Women have to acquire enough money so that they are able
Paid maternity leave can increase female labor force participation by making it easier for women
Parental leave benefits parents, newborns, and older children. By raising healthier, happier families, we will have a healthier, happier society. Before researching, I knew that parental leave was beneficial to mothers, fathers, and babies. I was surprised to find out that it can be beneficial for older children in the home. When I thought about parental leave I never considered the possibility of there being an older child in the home. However, it makes sense that having a parent home and available to the child would be beneficial. I can understand that finding the funding for parental leave could be very difficult. I also understand that it would be frustrating for companies to have to fill in the gap left by a mother or a father on parental leave. Despite these challenges, the proven benefits of parental leave for the family make a more compelling argument. Allowing parents to take off work enables them to fulfill their role as their child’s
With no pay and the risk of losing their jobs--if additional time is requested--parents return to work in as little as two weeks after the birth of a child. This results in the absence of one or both parents during the most crucial part of a child’s life—the first year of life. Ultimately, it is the children who will suffer. The events that take place in the early years of a child life, as well as the people that surround, will influence who they become. Children need love and guidance from their parents. Babies can learn so much, parents have the time to teach them and watch them grow. It is their duty as well as their rights as parents to enjoy the first moments of life with their children. Susan J. Douglas says, “The first five years of life are so crucial to cognitive and emotional development” (Douglas Par 8). Parents often send their babies to daycare at too young of an age because they are expected to return to work and have no other choice. Others quit their job because they do not want their babies to go to daycare. This creates a financial strain on families and has lasting effects on the newborn and other young children in the home. Sharon Lerner says, “Paid parental leave frees mothers and fathers from choosing between their careers and time with their infants” (Lerner 20). Paid family leave alleviates a great deal of stress for parents who are expecting. It makes starting a family less frightening because families have enough money and time to adjust with their new lives before returning to work. This makes workers less likely to call out of upon returning and more likely to be focused on the
Rather, it was added to the law by the opposition in an attempt to prevent the law from gaining the necessary vote to be instated. The little discussion concerning the matter of gender discrimination left courts with very little information to assist them in interpreting the law. (BL 348) Today courts generally “have determined that gender discrimination also includes discrimination due to pregnancy and sexual harassment, but not because of affinity orientation or being transgender.” (pg.348) Given with the passing of time, it is also natural for individuals to imagine just how prevalent gender discrimination is in our society but as stated by EEOC’s chairman in 2009, “sex discrimination against males and females alike continues to be a problem in the 21st century.”(pg. 338 – EEOC press release.) Gender itself plays a prominent role in our lives in the form of stereotypes, customs and ideas which are often discriminatory in nature, whether intentional or not. Of the two genders, women continue to be the most affected by gender discrimination and even as the number of woman in high positions continues to grow, they are still a proportionately large number of filled claims. (pg.338-339). According to a report released by the EEOC in 2010, “gender suits account for the second highest percentage of substantive claims brought under Title VII, behind race.” (#9, EEOC
With the rise of the modern age economic survival has become difficult for families based on a single income. This economic need along with modern attitudes toward gender equality has resulted in women being represented in the workforce in greater numbers. However, until the 1960’s women faced severe discrimination when trying to enter and maintain a position in the workforce. Often qualified women would be passed over for men with less experience and education. Employers were fearful that women were too emotional and were not equipped to handle the stress of the work environment. Also driving the decision to not hire or promote women was the concern over the additional health care expenses and leave time pregnant employees would require. The road to equal treatment of women in the workforce would begin with the passage of Civil Rights Act of 1964, specifically the portion entitled Title VII. While Title VII offered women some projection against discrimination in the workforce the ambiguity of the law would prevent protection on one key area: pregnancy. The legislation that would remove the final discriminatory roadblock to woman in the workforce would come from the passage of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978. This momentous act would extend the coverage of Title VII and prevent discrimination of women in employment due to a pregnancy and pregnancy related complications. While the law may have stemmed from a controversial decision by the Supreme Court
In the United States there are thousand and thousands of women who work. Women in the workforce are vital to the nation's economic security. Since they are vital to the U.S economy the U.S does not want women to be out of work for prolonged periods of time. Although that is the case there are women who have to be out of work due to unexpected or even planned pregnancies. With these pregnancies come trials of how much time they will receive off from work because of their pregnancy. The U.S policies for maternity leave have expanded extremely in the last two decades, but new mothers still tend have shorter periods of job protected leave, and less access to paid leave than women in other advanced industrialized countries. In the U.S every state has maternity leave except for 12 of the 50 states. Those states are California, Connecticut, Main, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. The states listed above are only required to have at least some of their private sector employers offer maternity leave coverage prior to the passage the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) (Berger & Waldfogel, 2003). Even though the other 38 states offer maternity leave only nine percent of them offer paid leave, but the jobs that offer leave is only for protection of their job not guaranteed pay, for th...
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act was an amendment to title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, it is illegal for an employer of 15 or more workers, to discriminate against a person because of pregnancy, childbirth, or pregnancy-related conditions. This means that employers must treat pregnancy the same way they treat any other temporary medical disability.
...d October 31, 1978 by Congress. It was an amended addition to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 stating women who are pregnant are to be treated equally to others. “on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions shall be treated the same for all employment-related purposes” (EEOC, 2013).
Indeed if women intend to make a difference in the workplace it is their actions that will make the difference. If women demanded better work schedules, daycare centers in the workplace, or daycare compensation or reimbursement they may enable themselves to maintain their careers and still take care of their families more effectively. When parents take into account both of their incomes then one parent not working may be counterproductive and not beneficial for the family (Guest, 2011). Indeed women have the choice of either returning to work after childbirth or staying home with the child or children whichever option is best is for each woman to decide based on her
About 75 percent of the 68 million women working in the United States will become pregnant at some point in their careers. Women with children are one of the fastest growing segments of the U.S. labor force. In 1975, 47% of women with children under the age of 18 were employed; by 2008, this number grew to a notable 71% (Miner et al. 60. The nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn Compared to other workers, mothers are often viewed as less competent, less productive, and less committed to their job, which is assumed to result in increased absenteeism and resignation (Byron and Roscigno 5).
After a birth, when the women go immediately back to work instead of taking leave they can cost $453 more in welfare than someone who took paid leave (The Economics…). “Paid leave promotes a healthier work environment… they had given themselves the proper care that they needed” (The Economics…). When women are able to go home, rest, and be with their baby they feel more ready to go back to work when they’re finished with the time they’ve been given.