Parental Leave
Parental leave varies significantly by country. The United States has some of the worst legislation in terms of offered maternity leave and benefits. The Family and Medial Leave act "requires larger employers and public agencies to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave — as well as continuation of health benefits" (Bernard, 2013). Other countries in the world offer significantly more time, and require at least a portion of the paycheck to be paid.
The United States claims to be one of the greatest and most progressive countries in the world and yet we offer family benefits similar to those in some third world countries. Research continues to show that child development is significantly benefited when a parent spends more time with their child after birth. Many employers are aware of this and try to offer more time and benefits, but this is difficult without government funding. Even more unfortunately, some companies offer only the required benefits, which poses a lot of issues for the families, especially in terms of child care.
The leading country in terms of benefits is Sweden. They offer 480 days of leave to be shared between each parent, and for 390 of the 480 days, parents receive 80% of their usual paycheck. It seems hard to believe that a country that claims to be so elite would be so behind on personal benefits for its citizens.
Questions:
1. Do you have any ideas as to how we can begin to improve our current family leave legislation?
2. Were you aware of any of these issues before this class? For example, had you heard any of these facts from mainstream media?
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Thank you for making this post. I was wondering, have you found that most countries offer parental leave for both parents or is it usually just mothers? I know you said Sweden offers it for both parents. I was wondering if there was a correlation between the length of parental leave offered and whether or not it was offered to both parents. Also, what are your opinions on maternal leave vs. parental leave in general? Do you think mothers and fathers should receive the same amount of time? Thanks!
ReplyDelete-Karen Briggs
While doing my research I found that most countries offered parental leave for only the mothers. These countries were also the ones that offered the lowest amount of time.
DeletePersonally I feel that parents need a significant amount of paid leave at the beginning of their child's life in order to properly bond and personally care for them. I think that mothers and fathers should at least be able to share the amount of time given between both parents. It is understandable that mothers receive the majority of time offered, especially during infancy when the child is still breast feeding, however, if the family decides that the father wants to spend the time at home instead, then that option should be available to them
-Nicole Fabiano