Parental Leave:
Paid parental leave should be equal and for both parents once a child is born
Recently women’s rights and women’s equality in the workplace has come back to the fore as a topic for discussion in government agencies and the United Nations. Whilst this is a very important topic, when it comes to time off from work when a new child is born, women in the US have some provision, whereas men have none.
The Family and Medical Aid Act (FLMA), of 1993, provides for 12 weeks of unpaid, job protected leave for certain specified events (8). Whilst one could refer to this as maternity or paternity leave if taken because of a pregnancy, this would not be strictly true. Where maternity and paternity leave are offered around the world, they are separate from any other leave due to medical or family reasons. The leave in the U.S. provided through the FLMA is also, as mentioned, unpaid. This creates a number of issues for the expectant family as, regardless of their job being safe for the time taken off, without the income it may be harder to look after the new born child as a couple of unpaid parents, than one parent not taking leave, or neither taking leave and relying on relatives to care for the child as much as possible.
Figure 1, shows the top countries in the world for maternity leave, with all offering over 50 weeks, and Serbia and Denmark at 100% of salary. In other countries both the amount of time and percentage of salary differs, but as Amanda Peterson Beadle points out in her article for the ThinkProgress website, ‘Out of 178 nations, the U.S. is one of three that does not offer paid maternity leave benefits, let alone paid leave for fathers’. (6)
Figure 1 – Top four countries for paid maternity l...
... middle of paper ...
...erview), 2013, Website
Hensegard, Jens, For Paternity Leave, Sweden Asks if Two Months Is Enough, WSJ (Wall Street Journal), July 31, 2012, Print
(5) Maltais, Michelle, Maternity Leave in America: How do we stack up? (http://articles.latimes.com/2014/jan/16/news/la-sh-maternity-leave-benefit-20140115), Los Angeles Times, 2014, Website
(6) Peterson Beadle, Amanda, How the Zero Weeks of Paid Maternity Leave in the U.S. Compare Globally (thinkprogress.org/health/2012/05/24/489973/paid-maternity-leave-us/), ThinkProgress, 2012, Website
(7) The Telegraph, Maternity leave is a burden for many women (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/9602859/Maternity-leave-is-a-burden-for-many-women-says-thinktank-director.html), 2012, Website
(8) U.S. Dept. of Labor, Family and Medical Leave Act – Wage and Hour Division (WHD) (http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/), 2013, Website
Ray et al. Parental Leave Policies in 2 Countries – Assessing Generosity and Gender Equality. Center for Economic and Policy Research.
This policy allows working couples to choose how they balance their work and parenting commitment to their new baby. The first two weeks are reserved for the mother but the remaining fifty weeks can be shared between both parents (Glegg, Swinson, 2013).This will definitely give chance to fathers to bond with their infants on an equal footing with the mother. Sarkadi, et al (2007) also suggests that policies should be made that fathers of young children may choose to do part time jobs so they can have time with their
Paid maternity leave can increase female labor force participation by making it easier for women
... to measure governmental performance around the world in meeting the needs of working families. To complete the index, data was gathered from 177 countries that represent a wide range of political, social and economic systems. Their findings revealed that 137 countries mandate paid annual leave, including 121 countries that guarantee 2 weeks or more each year. In contrast, the United States does not require employers to provide paid annual leave. In addition, at least 145 countries provide paid sick days for short- or long-term illnesses, with 136 providing a week or more annually. More than 81 countries provide sickness benefits for at least 26 weeks or until recovery. The US provides only unpaid leave for serious illnesses through the FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act 0f 1993), which does not cover all workers. More information on this can be found in appendix.
Kaufman, Lyonette, and Crompton (2010) explain that in Britain, family leave is short and offers low income replacement; while in the United States, family leave applies to some fathers and is unpaid (p. 322). After researching, Kaufman, Lyonette, and Crompton (2010) find “British fathers benefit from a policy that provided one week paid leave in the recent past and currently offers two weeks (partially) paid leave. American fathers know less about family leave policy, and even for those who are aware of FMLA, they are aware that it is unpaid” (p. 336). Research also showed that British fathers took one week of paid leave. American fathers had to deal with unpaid leave and used vacation days to take time
According to the U. S. Department of Labor, FMLA is designed to help employees balance their work and family responsibilities and it seeks to promote equal employment opportunity for men and women. FMLA applies to all public agencies, public and private elementary and secondary schools, and all companies with 50 or more employees (U. S. Department of Labor, 2010).
Within the past few decades, there has been a rise in the number of dual-income families. In todays world, women are expected not only to raise their children, but also earn money for their family in the workforce. Most countries ensure that pregnant women are given paid maternity leave. Only two countries do not carry this policy, Papua New Guinea and the United States (Wares). While the United States at present has the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, merely 60 percent of workers can receive the benefits that this law grants. The Family and Medical Leave Act offers three months of unpaid leave to workers that have amassed 12 months of tenure at a firm of 50 or more employees (Wage and Hour Division). Presently, approximately 40 percent
The FMLA was passed to help families in the time of a crisis so that the individuals would not have to choose between work and personal responsibilities. The eligible employees are permitted to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons. The leave can last up to twelve workweeks in any twelve-month period. Reasons for leave include: pregnancy, prenatal complications, adoption/ fostering of a child, hospitalization, care of an immediate family member, or a health condition that makes the employee unable to do his or her job (Solis). This law applies to any employer “engaging in commerce” ...
The IWF has found that when women take leave for their family, men are able to gain experience and therefore more earnings (Cooper). According to Lydia Frank from the Harvard Business Review, “...the largest pay gaps existed between married mothers and fathers who tell us they prioritize family at least 1-4 times per year. No pay gap existed between single men and women without children who said they never prioritize home/family over work.” The causes of the gender pay gap can be easily fixed if the government takes
In comparison the United States is far behind in what is offered to new parents. For example, Ireland began to address maternal leave from work as early as 1952 with their Social Work Welfare Act no 11. After 1969, they took another leap that the United States has yet to take and they introduced a law in which twelve paid weeks were required, however they would not have job protection until 1981. In 1981, the Maternity Protection Act entitled expectant mothers to paid maternity leave and the right to return to work after their childbirth. The period of maternity leave was fourteen weeks, which they then had the option of taking up to four more weeks of unpaid maternity leave. The Act applied to all women who worked eight hours or more per week. Another difference between the United States and Ireland’s policies is that Ireland recognizes the need for both parents to have leave. In 1998, Ireland passed the Parental Leave Act No. 30 with gave a parental leave or 14 unpaid and job-protected weeks per parent. Between the years of 2001 and 2007, the number of weeks and the amount of pay that an individual was allowed increased. In 2007, the maximum length of leave was increased to forty-two weeks, of those twenty-six were paid at 70% of their earnings. Recently, in 2016, Ireland introduced paid paternity leave, in the past paternity leave was
America is the one and only developed country that does not offer any paid maternity leave. Maternity leave is a period of absence from work granted to a mother before and after the birth of her child. In America this means twelve weeks of unpaid absence that guarantees her job when she returns. We are so far behind everyone that out of all of the countries around the world seven out of 196 including America do not have mandatory paid maternity leave. (Colorado public radio news) That is a sad figure, to think that we place having a family so high but don’t give the mothers the protection and security they deserve.
As we all know, majority of females are mothers and many are single mothers to beat that. Therefore, the thought of them not having paid maternity leave is quite disturbing to me. Why is the United States the only country in the world that doesn’t make paid maternity leave mandatory in the workplace? How are these females supposed to support their child, along with them if there not getting paid for the time they must take off? In many cases, that female may not have anyone to care for that child, so that she can go back to work. Things such as these may not be put into consideration by employers, but giving birth is a remarkable experience for females. Most importantly, maternity leaves gives a mother time to bond with her newly born child and it gives her time to recover or heal from the overwhelming birthing process. Therefore, the least companies can do is give paid maternity leave to females, while they’re missing work
Women are entitled to 12 weeks of paid maternity leave, four weeks prior to birth and eight weeks after birth, in a case of twins they are granted 10 weeks after birth. Employers are now prohibited from terminating female employees during maternity leave or while they are pregnant, except with a justified cause stated and approved by the Labor Ministry (Cerrato, 2015).
Livingston, Gretchen. "The Link between Parental Leave and the Gender Pay Gap." Pew Research Center RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2014.
It is time we stop treating child care as a side issue or a women’s issue, and treat it like the priority that it is. Paternity leave is good for women's careers. “When childcare responsibilities fall exclusively on the mother, the effect is to reduce women’s wages. Time out of the labor force deprives women of experience and promotions. When men shoulder more of the childcare burden, the effect is lessened (“The Benefits of Paternity Leave”).” Paid family leave has become an important way to signal to employees that the company is invested in them. People feel their company is committed to them in the long term. Overall, paid family leave helps keep people in the workforce after they have children. “When more workers are able to take leave, they are more likely to choose to remain in the labor market. Paid parental leave is associated with higher employment in economies around the world (Covert)”.