tag:theconversation.com,2011:/id/topics/paid-leave-14648/articlesPaid leave – The Conversation2023-08-08T12:29:52Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2101542023-08-08T12:29:52Z2023-08-08T12:29:52ZOlder ‘sandwich generation’ Californians spent more time with parents and less with grandkids after paid family leave law took effect<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541049/original/file-20230803-27-xpn12q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4535%2C2841&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Nearly a dozen states have enacted these policies so far.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/woman-taking-care-of-old-woman-in-wheelchair-royalty-free-image/970176900?adppopup=true">Westend61 via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em></p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>A California law that mandates paid family leave has led to adults in their 50s, 60s and 70s spending more time taking care of their parents and less time being their grandkids’ caregivers.</p>
<p>The law requires all employers to allow eligible workers to <a href="https://edd.ca.gov/en/disability/Am_I_Eligible_for_PFL_Benefits/">take up to six weeks of paid leave</a> to care for newborns, newly adopted children or seriously ill family members.</p>
<p>From 2006, two years after the law went into effect, to 2016, <a href="https://ca.db101.org/ca/situations/workandbenefits/rights/program2c.htm">this policy led to older adults’ spending 19 fewer hours</a> per year caring for their grandchildren, a 17% decrease. They spent 20 additional hours on average helping their own parents, a 50% increase. </p>
<p>The effect was most striking for people with newborn grandchildren and parents in need of help, but the law also benefited Californians with older grandchildren and those who don’t have parents requiring their assistance.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/08959420.2023.2226283">These findings</a> are from research I conducted with <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=yWNlAzcAAAAJ">Marcus Dillender</a>, a fellow economist. They suggest the law had effects through two channels. It enabled older adults to take paid leave to care for relatives with medical needs and it reduced the need for older adults to care for their grandchildren by granting paid parental leave to these children’s parents.</p>
<p>To assess how older adults spend their time, we analyzed data for people between the ages of 50 and 79 from the Health and Retirement Study, a <a href="https://hrs.isr.umich.edu/">longitudinal study of approximately 20,000 Americans</a>.</p>
<p>The survey asks respondents in that age group how much time they spend taking care of their grandchildren and helping their aging parents with basic personal activities like dressing, eating and bathing. We compared outcomes for people who lived in California with what happened to Americans in other states before and the law’s enactment.</p>
<p>We also looked into what happened for people who had different combinations of caregiving obligations – grandchildren less than 2 years old or older grandkids, or parents who need help or no parents requiring assistance.</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>The U.S. is the only wealthy country that <a href="https://www.oecd.org/els/soc/PF2_1_Parental_leave_systems.pdf">doesn’t require employers to provide paid family leave</a>. California was the first state to implement its own policies; <a href="https://www.ncsl.org/labor-and-employment/state-family-and-medical-leave-laws">10 others and the District of Columbia</a> have followed suit so far.</p>
<p>These policies can significantly affect older adults, who spend substantial time caring for their relatives.</p>
<p>Caregiving has become a more urgent policy issue because of the growing number of Americans who feel that they belong to a “<a href="https://www.michiganmedicine.org/health-lab/sandwich-generation-study-shows-challenges-caring-both-kids-and-aging-parents">sandwich generation</a>” of people who have to take care of their children or grandchildren and their parents at the same time. </p>
<h2>What other research is being done</h2>
<p>Other research has found that California’s paid family leave policy doubled the overall length of maternity leave by new mothers, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.21676">increasing it from an average of three weeks to six weeks</a>. It also upped the likelihood that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.22030">fathers take parental leave</a> following the birth or adoption of a child by 46% – although <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.21894">fathers take less leave on average than mothers</a>.</p>
<p>According to some of the many other studies conducted so far, California’s paid family leave law helped workers with caregiving responsibilities stay employed by allowing them to take time off with reduced financial risk and increased job continuity, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/workar/waab022">including for those ages 45 to 64 with a disabled spouse</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gny105">middle-aged female caregivers</a>. The law has, in addition, reduced the share of elderly people using nursing homes by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.22038">facilitating more informal care</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210154/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joelle Abramowitz receives funding from the National Institute on Aging, the Social Security Administration and the National Science Foundation. </span></em></p>The law changed older adults’ caregiving behavior because their children became more able to take paid time off work to care for their own newborns.Joelle Abramowitz, Assistant Research Scientist at the Survey Research Center, University of MichiganLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1855032022-07-20T16:27:54Z2022-07-20T16:27:54ZAnnual leave: here’s the evidence for why you should use it up – and how to make the most of it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475084/original/file-20220720-16-5ah1kq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=25%2C19%2C4224%2C2796&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">One in five people do not take their full annual leave entitlement.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>We are currently at the peak of the holiday season, but instead of drinking cocktails on the beach, hiking the mountains and enjoying what life has to offer, a surprising number of people are reluctant to take time out from work. Recent research shows one in five people in Ireland do not take their full <a href="https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-pwlbmr/personalandwork-lifebalance2021-mainresults/leaveintheworkplace/">annual leave entitlement</a>. And in the UK, <a href="https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/article/1747255/four-in-10-workers-taken-less-holiday-during-pandemic-survey-finds">two in five</a> workers have taken less leave in recent years as a result of the pandemic.</p>
<p>It is important to take time out from work in order to fully live our lives, but there are several issues that can discourage us from taking annual leave. Some people have doubts about whether taking time out will allow for full <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32406700/">psychological detachment</a> from work, for example. The fear that thoughts of work will invade our minds encourages many people to just keep working. A common trend among those who are obsessively <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260832037_Vallerand_R_J_Houlfort_N_Forest_J_2014_Passion_for_work_Determinants_and_outcomes_In_M_Gagne_Ed_The_Oxford_Handbook_of_Work_Engagement_Motivation_and_Self-Determination_Theory_pp_85-105_Oxford_Oxford_">passionate</a> about their work, these feelings can become overbearing, controlling their thoughts and making them unable to temporarily forget about work. </p>
<p>Another reason people do not take time off is because they do not expect to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32406700/">feel relaxed</a> while on holidays. This may be due to their circumstances or choices made about how to spend time off. In particular, family holidays may generate a lot of conflict, sometimes becoming even <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15022250510014255?casa_token=6cmhqIg0WPsAAAAA%3AViEAGpjmW3PjZc6UzCaijcXlDqzlE1sF8emH8kuG6yU9nf8HR-3uFwcdPJGzGsE0zHUThyxrR64knQ">more stressful than work</a>. It’s unsurprising then that staying on at work instead of taking time out may be tempting for many.</p>
<p>Alternatively, some people fear the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32406700/">financial consequences</a> of annual leave. Holidays are expensive, especially for large families, leading many to forgo their leave entitlement to save money. </p>
<h2>Benefits of annual leave</h2>
<p>These are just some examples of why people may avoid holidays, but regardless of the reason, taking time off – especially from demanding jobs – has immediate benefits in terms of decreasing stress and <a href="https://d-nb.info/1097755169/34">burnout</a>. These benefits are only temporary, with stress often climbing again shortly after returning to work. As such, regular respites throughout the year can help achieve the accumulative benefits of annual leave on health. </p>
<p>The good news is that taking time out for a week to two weeks is <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/255708351_How_Do_We_Feel_on_Vacation_A_Closer_Look_at_How_Emotions_Change_over_the_Course_of_a_Trip">enough</a> to recover and experience a boost of positive emotions. This will begin to decline as the time off comes to an end, but still offers the break needed to recharge your batteries.</p>
<p>Annual leave is also <a href="https://www.hrlocker.com/features/time-management/time-management-software/profuductivity-increases-annual-leave/">beneficial for employers</a>, as it improves employee productivity by up to 40%, reduces the likelihood of sick leave by 28%, and boosts creativity and mental health. Taking time out is also essential for <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2661484/">parents</a>, as their children gain immense benefits from spending more time together. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Airport departures board showing cancelled flights" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472986/original/file-20220707-18-suewv9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472986/original/file-20220707-18-suewv9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472986/original/file-20220707-18-suewv9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472986/original/file-20220707-18-suewv9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472986/original/file-20220707-18-suewv9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472986/original/file-20220707-18-suewv9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472986/original/file-20220707-18-suewv9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This summer’s travel disruption may have put people off travelling abroad but there are plenty of ways to get the most of your annual leave at home.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/departures-board-cancelled-flights-210608185">Fabien Monteil / Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Getting the best from annual leave</h2>
<p>While these figures may have you reaching for your phone to search for package deals, the spike in <a href="https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/travel/flight-cancellations-airports-routes-cancelled-flights-avoid-how-1724492">travel disruption</a> this summer may put you off from searching for the farthest-flung destination. But you don’t need expensive foreign holidays to enjoy annual leave. Here are three vacation <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Positive-Health-100-Research-based-Positive-Psychology-and-Lifestyle-Medicine/Burke-Dunne-Meehan-OBoyle-Nieuwerburgh/p/book/9781032246383">activities</a> that can improve wellbeing, whether you are away or on a staycation:</p>
<p><strong>1. Practice relaxation</strong></p>
<p>Relaxation can involve simple <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ppc.12184?casa_token=YgyHqZvOXj0AAAAA%3ApeIFfCofPsvwVJkZ9RX6S24jLLOw-rQ0sZYYFhWyIMfFOZx4eG00FPz066hV0RJsZjI7Q02Fr2NnWi4">breathing practice</a> that can help reduce anxiety. An alternative that can have similar benefits is to use meditation techniques such as <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1359432X.2017.1308924?casa_token=jP_gVWSNsL8AAAAA:1TYdaHq2Ua9lgg4vr7bdaXMkozyrUJdHcEx9HCMKSabC2x8ftYft9WQTv7070bsUVFJT4j0SYK8G">mindfulness</a>.</p>
<p><strong>2. Spend time in nature</strong></p>
<p>When on annual leave, try to spend as much time as you can in nature because it is associated an improvement in both <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272494419301185">emotional and psychological</a> health. It doesn’t matter what you do when enjoying nature; you can be active, for example walking, running, gardening, or simply sitting on a park bench or spending time sky-gazing.</p>
<p><strong>3. Engage your brain</strong></p>
<p>Take time off as an opportunity to develop your interests. If you love reading, plan to read a few books over the holiday. Research shows these activities <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1948550618775410">support our minds</a> and our moods, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0740818818300537?casa_token=4CPDmuirRlcAAAAA:-7008IJWIawAD85BjnNIyJhqScOhD7Ov0Ju4bCqTvBy8WIB2Q0D-htnHoEHBiC2ZhO2_9Logtg">regardless of age</a>. There are additional benefits if you help your <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/284286/reading_for_pleasure.pdf">children enjoy books</a> over the summer. </p>
<p>Alternatively, if you enjoy listening to music, take this time to dust off your CDs or rearrange your digital music library. Share music, play an instrument, write lyrics, dance or even just <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8455907/">listen to</a> as much music as you can to improve your physcial and mental health.</p>
<p>These are just a few ideas. What’s most important is to do something that engages your mind, helps you forget about your job and allows for a respite before you return to work feeling happier and more energised than before.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185503/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jolanta Burke does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Taking time off work is important, but many people don’t take their full holiday entitlement. Here’s how to make the most of time offJolanta Burke, Senior Lecturer, Centre for Positive Psychology and Health, RCSI University of Medicine and Health SciencesLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1859172022-06-30T18:18:15Z2022-06-30T18:18:15ZAbortion benefits: Companies have a simple and legal way to help their workers living in anti-abortion states – expand paid time off<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471708/original/file-20220629-14-teswcu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=251%2C58%2C5338%2C3662&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">As the last abortion clinic in Mississippi closes, workers in the state may get some support from their employers. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/AbortionMississippi/a2fff0257576414787850e495707d606/photo?Query=abortion%20clinic&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=1561&currentItemNo=26">AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Employers looking for ways to support their workers seeking abortions in states where it’s now illegal or soon will be don’t have it easy. </p>
<p>From an employer’s standpoint, abortion is considered <a href="https://www.jacksonlewis.com/publication/group-health-plan-considerations-face-potentially-changing-abortion-laws">a type of health care benefit</a> – and the rules that apply to that benefit are <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/us/abortion-laws-roe-v-wade.html">shifting rapidly</a> from state to state. Abortion is also a <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/06/17/key-facts-about-the-abortion-debate-in-america/">political flashpoint</a> guaranteed to produce controversy. And the problem is not going away anytime soon.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/abortion-companies-travel-expenses.html?partner=slack&smid=sl-share">Some companies are vowing</a> to cover the cost of traveling out of state to get the procedure where it is still legal. Others are emphasizing that their insurance plans explicitly cover abortions. </p>
<p>As a <a href="https://law.uoregon.edu/directory/faculty-staff/all/tippett">legal scholar specializing in employment law</a>, I believe there’s also a third option that may not be as generous but is less likely to run into legal problems – and will help more workers, especially those with low incomes. </p>
<h2>Covering medical costs directly</h2>
<p>As of 2020, the <a href="https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/pdf/10.1377/hlthaff.2021.01528">median cost of an abortion</a> was US$500 to $600 in the first trimester, and around $900 in the second trimester.</p>
<p>Although <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1049386713000224?via%3Dihub">most women</a> seeking an abortion pay for the procedure out of pocket, some companies cover abortion in their health plans. In a recent statement, for example, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/abortion-companies-travel-expenses.html?partner=slack&smid=sl-share">Uber touted</a> that its employee health plan includes abortion costs. And employers in a <a href="https://www.guttmacher.org/state-policy/explore/regulating-insurance-coverage-abortion">handful of states</a> such as California and New York are required to include abortion in any health plan they offer. </p>
<p>However, other states outlaw health coverage for abortion under <a href="https://www.littler.com/publication-press/publication/impacts-dobbs-decision-employer-benefit-plans">state insurance laws</a>. Even before the recent <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-revolutionary-ruling-and-not-just-for-abortion-a-supreme-court-scholar-explains-the-impact-of-dobbs-185823">Supreme Court abortion decision</a>, 11 states including North Dakota and Texas <a href="https://www.guttmacher.org/state-policy/explore/regulating-insurance-coverage-abortion">had already prohibited or limited</a> private insurance from paying for the procedure.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.littler.com/publication-press/publication/impacts-dobbs-decision-employer-benefit-plans">Companies that fund</a> their own health benefit plan may be in a better position to avoid restrictions in state insurance laws. But switching to a self-funded plan is unaffordable for most small or medium-sized businesses. And self-funding may not protect companies if states decide to <a href="https://observer.com/2022/06/big-u-s-employers-like-walmart-and-home-depot-arent-talking-about-workplace-abortion-rights/">criminalize</a> abortion.</p>
<p>In other words, companies do not have a lot of room to maneuver when it comes to covering abortions in states that are determined to prohibit the procedure.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An abortion procedure room with a computer screen and a medical bed" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471915/original/file-20220630-20-86ck3h.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471915/original/file-20220630-20-86ck3h.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471915/original/file-20220630-20-86ck3h.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471915/original/file-20220630-20-86ck3h.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471915/original/file-20220630-20-86ck3h.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471915/original/file-20220630-20-86ck3h.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471915/original/file-20220630-20-86ck3h.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Patients can expect to spend around $500-$600 on a first-trimester abortion.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/AbortionTexasLouisianaClinic/55574dda45234990bbd8f264583f3265/photo?Query=abortion%20procedure&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=508&currentItemNo=87">AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The travel expense option</h2>
<p>Microsoft, Citigroup and <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/companies-offering-abortion-travel-benefits-us-workers-2022-06-24/">at least 50 other U.S. companies</a> have pledged in recent weeks to reimburse workers for travel expenses associated with out-of-state medical care, including abortion. </p>
<p>Kroger and <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/dicks-sporting-goods-travel-expense-reimbursement-employees-seeking-abortions/">Dick’s Sporting Goods</a>, for example, offered employees up to $4,000 to cover such expenses, while Zillow said it would reimburse up to $7,500 when travel is required for abortion or certain other medical procedures.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, I suspect many companies may shy away from adopting similar policies. A <a href="https://www.mercer.us/our-thinking/healthcare/scotus-overturns-roe-understanding-the-impact-on-your-benefit-plans.html">survey in early June found that</a> only 14% of companies already had a policy in place to reimburse abortion-related travel expenses, while another 25% said they were considering it.</p>
<p>Although those numbers could grow, leading <a href="https://www.littler.com/publication-press/publication/impacts-dobbs-decision-employer-benefit-plans">law firms have cautioned</a> <a href="https://www.jacksonlewis.com/publication/group-health-plan-considerations-face-potentially-changing-abortion-laws">that</a> such policies could <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/after-roe-v-wade-ruling-companies-reimbursing-medical-and-travel-expenses-for-abortion-risk-blowback-11656109337">create legal risks</a> similar to those involved in covering health care costs.</p>
<p>Anti-abortion states could even directly prohibit travel reimbursement for out-of-state abortions. Texas lawmakers, for example, are already threatening to <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/companies-offering-abortion-related-travel-expenses-legal-exposure-rcna35559">pass a law</a> that would “bar companies from doing business in Texas if they pay for residents of the state to receive abortions elsewhere.”</p>
<p>And while there are reasons to believe <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/19-1392#writing-19-1392_CONCUR_6">interstate travel</a> would be constitutionally protected, any ensuing litigation would take years to resolve. </p>
<p>As a result, many companies may simply <a href="https://observer.com/2022/06/big-u-s-employers-like-walmart-and-home-depot-arent-talking-about-workplace-abortion-rights/">decide against</a> offering abortion travel benefits to workers in states where the procedure is banned.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="silhouettes of protesters with signs in front of supreme court building" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471916/original/file-20220630-14-pvsa00.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471916/original/file-20220630-14-pvsa00.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471916/original/file-20220630-14-pvsa00.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471916/original/file-20220630-14-pvsa00.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471916/original/file-20220630-14-pvsa00.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471916/original/file-20220630-14-pvsa00.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471916/original/file-20220630-14-pvsa00.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Abortion-rights activists protest outside the Supreme Court on June 25, 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/AbortionCrossingStateLines/d7c0c8e2bc13426c9b540145b1f14089/photo?Query=abortion%20travel%20state&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=28&currentItemNo=1">AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A simpler solution that helps everyone</h2>
<p>This doesn’t mean that companies are completely powerless to help workers in an anti-abortion state. </p>
<p>Workers who need to drive hundreds of miles for care unavailable in their state will – at a minimum – need time off work. And while most workers have some access to paid leave, those benefits are <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/ebs2.pdf">predominantly available</a> to high-wage earners. By contrast, roughly half of workers on the low end of the wage scale lack paid <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/ebs2.pdf">sick leave or vacation time</a>.</p>
<p>These workers are left in an impossible position if they need to travel for an abortion. They generally aren’t even entitled to unpaid time off, unless they are covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act and their condition qualifies as a “<a href="https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/28-fmla">serious health condition</a>.” Instead, they are left to cajole co-workers to cover their shifts and hope managers cut them a break. </p>
<p>And every hour a worker without vacation or sick leave spends driving to another state for medical care is an hour they aren’t being paid. An employee making $15 an hour who loses a week of work for an out-of-state abortion stands to forgo as much money as the cost of the procedure itself. In other words, the workers who can least afford to forgo wages for an abortion are most likely to be put in that position. </p>
<p>If companies are reluctant or unable to pay for travel expenses – or the procedure itself – they can at least pay workers for the time they are away from work. </p>
<p>Expanding sick leave and vacation leave to a broader swath of workers may also avoid some of the pitfalls of other corporate interventions. Even if state legislatures pass draconian laws such as the Texas law that prohibits “<a href="https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/87R/analysis/html/HB01515H.htm">aiding and abetting</a>,” companies rarely know exactly how workers spend their time off – particularly when it comes to vacation time. It’s harder then to pin liability on the employer.</p>
<h2>More privacy, less controversy</h2>
<p>For the same reason, sick leave and vacation policies also provide workers with a measure of privacy. Unlike policies involving travel or health benefits, employees can often avail themselves of time off without providing receipts or documentation. </p>
<p>Finally, a quiet expansion of the company’s paid time off enables employers to help women without attracting controversy. <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/06/27/meta-worker-blasts-firm-for-banning-discussion-of-abortion-ruling/">Companies are already nervous</a> about abortion-related discussions at work. They may not want to generate more internal conflict at a time when partisan rancor is at a fever pitch.</p>
<p>And while expanding paid time off may not seem like a lot, it would be one less hurdle for women experiencing nothing but hurdles.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185917/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elizabeth C. Tippett does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Some companies say they will cover travel expenses to help workers in states where abortion is illegal get the procedure, but doing so could pose legal challenges.Elizabeth C. Tippett, Associate Professor of Law, University of OregonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1795392022-04-06T12:23:08Z2022-04-06T12:23:08ZPaid family leave makes people happier, global data shows<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455648/original/file-20220331-20-lmaos1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C1131%2C6585%2C3653&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Caring for a newborn can be joyous.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/parents-with-baby-girl-sitting-on-sofa-royalty-free-image/1291784765">Johner Images via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The U.S. <a href="https://www.abc10.com/article/news/verify/government-verify/paid-family-maternity-leave-united-states-one-of-handful-countries-without-guarantee/536-d24f5921-835a-4c48-ae90-a0bbb00c5b77">remains the only</a> advanced economy <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-us-is-stingier-with-child-care-and-maternity-leave-than-the-rest-of-the-world-94770">without federal paid leave</a>, despite overwhelming <a href="https://theconversation.com/82-of-americans-want-paid-maternity-leave-making-it-as-popular-as-chocolate-159897">support for this benefit</a>.</p>
<p>Employers are free to provide this benefit at their own expense. But only <a href="https://www.bls.gov/ncs/ebs/factsheet/family-leave-benefits-fact-sheet.htm">1 in 4 U.S. workers</a>, including <a href="https://www.commerce.gov/hr/paid-parental-leave-federal-employees">federal employees</a>, can take paid time off to care for a newborn or a newly adopted or fostered child. That’s problematic for many reasons, including the abundant evidence that paid leave boosts healthy <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1293603.pdf">childhood development</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/703138">economic security</a>.</p>
<p>President Joe Biden has sought to <a href="https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/benefits/pages/how-bidens-paid-fmla-proposal-would-work.aspx">expand access to paid family leave</a>, initially through his <a href="https://19thnews.org/2021/12/us-universal-paid-leave-build-back-better/">Build Back Better</a> package, which is now on hold. He reasserted his calls to do so in his March 2022 <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2022/03/01/remarks-of-president-joe-biden-state-of-the-union-address-as-delivered/">State of the Union address</a>.</p>
<p>Based on our extensive research regarding the connections between <a href="https://scholar.google.co.jp/citations?user=sqnXS-sAAAAJ&hl=en">social policies</a> and the <a href="https://arts-sciences.buffalo.edu/content/dam/arts-sciences/sociology/faculty/department-profiles/Kristen%20Schultz%20Lee%20updated%20CV.pdf">happiness of families</a>, we’re certain that expanding access to paid leave to more employees would make them happier.</p>
<p><iframe id="BH1Bp" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/BH1Bp/1/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Children and unhappy parents</h2>
<p>In recent years, a growing number of studies have indicated that <a href="https://contexts.org/articles/the-joys-of-parenthood-reconsidered/">parents, particularly in the United States</a>, are <a href="https://www.vox.com/22577373/do-i-want-kids-parenthood-baby-childfree">generally less happy</a> than their childless peers, especially when their <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0190272520902453">children are little</a>.</p>
<p>Parents also experience more <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/002214650504600403">depression</a>, <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1177%2F17579139211018243">loneliness</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0190272520902453">stress</a>.</p>
<p>Some scholars argue that a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/688892">lack of government support</a> for raising kids is causing this “<a href="https://www.sciencefocus.com/science/happiest-parents-country/">happiness gap</a>.”</p>
<p>Only 6.3% of 3-year-olds and just over 33% of 4-year-olds nationwide are enrolled in a <a href="https://nieer.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/YB2020_Executive_Summary_080521.pdf">state-funded preschool program</a>, although free early childhood education is becoming more common. Likewise, just <a href="https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2021-11/57631-Paid-Leave.pdf">nine states</a> and the District of Columbia now provide paid family leave for new parents.</p>
<p>In other words, most U.S. families are still being left behind. And without universal free pre-K or <a href="https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/fact-sheet/paid-leave-in-u-s/">paid family leave</a>, many parents are <a href="https://www.readingrockets.org/article/pre-k-across-country">largely on their own</a> in terms of finding and paying for private child care for young children.</p>
<p>Paid family leave of at least a month can help parents to develop more <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0192513X17728984">fulfilling family relationships</a>. For example, it can allow parents to spend more time reading and singing to their child, which benefits cognitive development.</p>
<p>The effects of paid leave on the relationship between parents depends on who is taking the leave. If only mothers take family leave, then <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/651384">gender inequality in housework</a> increases. But when fathers take paid leave, couples share their housework responsibilities and child care <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/703115">more equally</a>.</p>
<p>This is because when both parents take a leave after the arrival of a new child, they are more likely to establish household routines that result in an equal sharing of household tasks. One study found that when fathers were encouraged to take a parental leave, their participation in household tasks increased by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/703115">250%</a>.</p>
<p>When parents are free to take <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1293603">more time off work</a> to care for their infants and newly adopted children with fewer financial costs and little fear of job loss – and especially when dads are encouraged to take time off – both children and their parents are happier.</p>
<h2>Global perspectives</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.abc-clio.com/products/A4471C/">Through our research</a> spanning <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/sot094">27 countries</a>, we’ve found that parents in wealthy countries with weak safety nets – <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2020/06/23/the-social-safety-net-the-gaps-that-covid-19-spotlights/">such as the U.S.</a> – tend to be less happy than their counterparts in countries <a href="https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/case-danish-style-safety-net">like Denmark</a> where the government provides everyone with more support. </p>
<p>This is one reason Finland, Norway and other nations with strong welfare states <a href="https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/rankings/happiness/OECD/">consistently rank</a> at the top of the <a href="https://worldhappiness.report/ed/2022/happiness-benevolence-and-trust-during-covid-19-and-beyond/#ranking-of-happiness-2019-2021">World Happiness Report</a>, an annual assessment based on Gallup World Poll data. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6609-9_14">U.S. ranks lower than would be predicted</a> in that report given its economic standing, while the opposite is true in the case of Denmark, Canada, New Zealand and other welfare states.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/sot094">We’ve also found that</a> when governments step up their spending on social programs and adjust tax burdens to make the rich shoulder more of the costs of running the government, economic inequality declines. At the same time, the happiness levels of low-income and high-income people become more similar.</p>
<p>Higher social spending especially increases the happiness of women with small children and people who are cohabiting but unmarried. Other international research shows greater <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/679627">economic</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1257/pol.20190022">mental health</a>
benefits of paid leave for low-income families.</p>
<p><a href="https://worldhappiness.report/ed/2020/the-nordic-exceptionalism-what-explains-why-the-nordic-countries-are-constantly-among-the-happiest-in-the-world">Recent</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/sou010">research</a> by other scholars who study countries that have invested heavily in social welfare policies like paid family leave further supports our findings.</p>
<p>Respondents in the <a href="https://econpapers.repec.org/article/blaecinqu/v_3a51_3ay_3a2013_3ai_3a1_3ap_3a1-15.htm">world’s most generous welfare states</a> were more satisfied with their work, health and family life than people in places with weaker safety nets.</p>
<p>As one notable example, a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/oep/gpab038">recent study</a> that one of us co-authored showed that the Japanese government’s investments in generous paid leave for families with small children, access to child care, child allowances and free health insurance for children, as well as increased benefits for older adults, were associated with modest gains in overall happiness.</p>
<p>These policies made significant differences for women with small children and older people, who became happier between 1990 and 2010.</p>
<h2>Losing benefits can decrease happiness</h2>
<p>In addition, there is evidence of what can happen when government benefits that meet many people’s needs are taken away. In the <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/happiness-growth-and-the-life-cycle-9780199597093?cc=jp&lang=en&#">former German Democratic Republic</a>, satisfaction generally rose between 1990, just before its transition to a free-market economy from a communist state, and 2004 in terms of the freedom to buy goods and services.</p>
<p>On the other hand, that same study found that satisfaction in the place that also used to be called East Germany plummeted concerning health, work and child care. People had been guaranteed access to health care and child care, as well as job security, under communist rule – but all of that changed when that system collapsed.</p>
<p>Federal paid leave gives families a chance to find their footing after the arrival of a new child, without having to quit their job or take unpaid time off. It should come as no surprise that such a safety net would make families not only economically more secure, but happier too.</p>
<p>[<em>Get the best of The Conversation, every weekend.</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?nl=weekly&source=inline-weeklybest">Sign up for our weekly newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/179539/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hiroshi Ono receives funding from Japan Society for Promotion of Science.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kristen Schultz Lee does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>This important benefit does more than just help parents in terms of dollars and cents.Kristen Schultz Lee, Associate Professor of Sociology, University at BuffaloHiroshi Ono, Professor of Human Resource Management, School of International Corporate Strategy, Hitotsubashi UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1714972021-11-25T00:47:21Z2021-11-25T00:47:21ZBalancing work and fertility isn’t easy – but reproductive leave can help<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433045/original/file-20211122-19-1mrdzm8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Balancing the competing demands of work and care, or “production” and “reproduction”, is traditionally a burden carried by women. </p>
<p>As many women could tell you, this often comes at a personal cost. It is not uncommon for women involved in <a href="https://www.sydney.edu.au/business/our-research/research-groups/women-work/the-body-at-work-project.html">our research</a> to report they forego promotions to accommodate their child caring or elder care responsibilities, or work part-time, and earn less, because full-time jobs are too inflexible.</p>
<p>But beyond the personal cost, there is an impact on the economy, workplaces and gender equality. </p>
<p>In Australia, this is reflected by declining fertility rates and the withdrawal of women from the labour market in the wake of COVID-19. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/in-2020-our-workforce-and-caring-system-broke-they-are-the-same-thing-152191">In 2020 our workforce and caring system broke. They are the same thing</a>
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<p>Future fertility rates are predicted to drop to a record low of <a href="https://population.gov.au/docs/2020_mcdonald_fertility_projections.pdf">around 1.6</a> babies per woman, one of the lowest rates on record. This is below “replacement level”, putting additional pressure on an already strained workforce. </p>
<p>After decades of growth, women’s participation in employment is <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/employment-and-unemployment/labour-force-australia/sep-2021">also falling</a>, likely driven by the ongoing strain of lockdowns and a recalibration of work and care responsibilities .</p>
<p>These trends paint a grim picture of the state of production and reproduction in Australia. But we can make policy changes to better help young people navigate work and care. One of these is reproductive leave. </p>
<h2>What is reproductive leave?</h2>
<p>In Australia, as well as countries such as the United Kingdom, India and New Zealand, “reproductive leave” has emerged as an innovative response to the tensions between work and human reproduction. These policies aim to assist workers in balancing their paid work obligations with their reproductive needs, sexual health and overall well-being. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Group of young workers, look at a document." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433047/original/file-20211122-13-ai95ds.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433047/original/file-20211122-13-ai95ds.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433047/original/file-20211122-13-ai95ds.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433047/original/file-20211122-13-ai95ds.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433047/original/file-20211122-13-ai95ds.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433047/original/file-20211122-13-ai95ds.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433047/original/file-20211122-13-ai95ds.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Research shows fertility treatments and painful periods can interfere with work duties.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These policies may offer support to workers who are trying to start a family, or to anyone who is managing some of the complex needs of the human body, which requires different levels of attention and maintenance over the life course. For example, there is evidence Australian women struggle to balance the <a href="https://www.unswlawjournal.unsw.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Hvala.pdf">demands of IVF treatment</a> with paid work obligations. There is also data to suggest <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0255001">painful periods</a> may contribute to absenteeism.</p>
<h2>Unions, private companies lead the way</h2>
<p>We are starting to see a wide range of workplace policies in this area. </p>
<p>In 2020, the Health and Community Services Union in Victoria began a push for <a href="https://hacsu.asn.au/Why-HACSU-is-fighting-for-Reproductive-Health-and-Wellbeing-Leave%7E25689">reproductive health and well-being leave</a> as part of their enterprise bargaining process. This claim includes paid leave and flexible working arrangements for menstruation, menopause, miscarriage and stillbirth, fertility treatments, vasectomies, hysterectomies and gender affirmation therapies (negotiations are ongoing). </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-english-speaking-countries-upended-the-trade-off-between-babies-and-jobs-without-even-trying-118459">How English-speaking countries upended the trade-off between babies and jobs, without even trying</a>
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<p>Earlier this year, ethical superannuation company <a href="https://www.futuresuper.com.au/blog/a-bloody-good-policy/">Future Super</a> announced paid leave for menstruation and menopause, as did the Australian-owned period underwear brand <a href="https://www.modibodi.com/blogs/womens-underwear-online/modibodi-launches-menstrual-menopause-miscarriage-leave">Modibodi</a>. </p>
<p>Global music streaming platform<a href="https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life-and-relationships/ivf-on-us-spotify-leads-the-way-with-family-benefits-for-australian-staff-20211004-p58x54.html#:%7E:text=But%20for%20the%2060%20Australian,or%20fertility%20assessments%20and%20education.">Spotify</a> also made headlines recently for its generous “family formation” benefits that provide employees with a lifetime allowance for IVF treatments, donor services and fertility assessments.</p>
<h2>Part of a global movement</h2>
<p>Reproductive leave is not a new concept. In Australia, these policies trace back to the early 2000s, when the Students’ Representative Council at Sydney University and the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2005-02-11/unions-seek-menstrual-leave-for-toyota-workers/1517308">Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union</a> were involved in two separate industrial disputes over the provision of menstrual leave. </p>
<p>But there is a renewed energy surrounding reproductive leave, demonstrating an increasing acceptance of the complex entanglement of work and personal life. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Woman curled up on a couch." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433048/original/file-20211122-17-1bi56bz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433048/original/file-20211122-17-1bi56bz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433048/original/file-20211122-17-1bi56bz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433048/original/file-20211122-17-1bi56bz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433048/original/file-20211122-17-1bi56bz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433048/original/file-20211122-17-1bi56bz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433048/original/file-20211122-17-1bi56bz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">There have been calls for period leave in Australia for about two decades.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
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<p>There is a drive to bring the body into the modern workplace and to pay attention to biological and social reproduction as a means of assisting in economic production. To put it bluntly, we will not have a future generation of workers and taxpayers if we fail to accommodate the reproductive needs and activities of today’s workers and taxpayers.</p>
<p>These policies are also part of a <a href="https://www.sydney.edu.au/business/our-research/research-groups/women-work/the-body-at-work-project.html">global movement</a> to normalise and accommodate the body at all stages of life and for all people across the sex and gender spectrums, including cisgender, transgender, gender diverse and non-binary people.</p>
<h2>Some people have objections</h2>
<p>But how well accepted will these policies be? </p>
<p>In some cases, reproductive leave has caused surprise or alarm. Given the link between reproductive capacity and gender discrimination at work, some feminists are understandably wary of policies that draw attention to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/global-opinions/wp/2017/08/03/im-a-feminist-but-giving-women-a-day-off-for-their-period-is-a-stupid-idea/">biological differences</a> between workers. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/supporting-menstrual-health-in-australia-means-more-than-just-throwing-pads-at-the-problem-161194">Supporting menstrual health in Australia means more than just throwing pads at the problem</a>
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<p>There are also privacy concerns over the disclosure of highly personal issues such as infertility or menstrual pain, as well as concerns these policies could increase the cost of labour or reinforce negative stereotypes (we don’t need more jokes about “that time of the month”). </p>
<p>Acknowledging the potential drawbacks of reproductive leave must be part of the policy conversation. These policies must be approached cautiously and designed in a way that minimises the risk of gender stereotyping.</p>
<h2>The future of reproductive leave in Australia</h2>
<p>Despite significant developments within trade unions and private companies, there are limited provisions for reproductive leave in national legislation. For many workers their only option is to claim personal leave: that is, “sick” leave. </p>
<p>Recent announcements by the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-24/bereavement-allowance-for-pregnancy-loss/100236932">federal</a> and <a href="https://womensagenda.com.au/latest/nsw-government-to-introduce-paid-miscarriage-and-stillbirth-leave-in-public-sector/">NSW governments</a> that parents who have suffered a miscarriage or stillbirth are now eligible for paid bereavement leave is a start – but they need to go further. </p>
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<img alt="Mum holding a new baby in her lap." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433049/original/file-20211122-23-1fdelk5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433049/original/file-20211122-23-1fdelk5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433049/original/file-20211122-23-1fdelk5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433049/original/file-20211122-23-1fdelk5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433049/original/file-20211122-23-1fdelk5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433049/original/file-20211122-23-1fdelk5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433049/original/file-20211122-23-1fdelk5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The fertility rate is expected to drop to 1.6 in 2021.</span>
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<p>For example, we could explore a “model clause” for reproductive leave in modern awards or a legislative amendment to the National Employment Standards to include a gender-inclusive reproductive leave provision. This provision would conceivably provide days of unpaid or paid job protected leave, in a similar manner to the origins of parental leave and more recently domestic and family violence leave.</p>
<p>We must take the opportunity of COVID-19 to reconfigure our gender contract. It is clear that without policies that enable people to work, care and reproduce, Australia will be a poorer and smaller nation.</p>
<p><em>Professor Marian Baird also spoke about reproductive leave at “The Social Future” the 50th Anniversary Symposium of <a href="http://socialsciences.org.au">The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia</a> this week.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/171497/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marian Baird receives funding from the Australian Research Council for the Centre of Excellence on population Ageing Research.
I am a research board member of the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elizabeth Hill receives funding from The Australian Research Council.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sydney Colussi does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Reproductive leave policies can help workers who are trying to start a family, dealing with painful periods or going through menopause.Marian Baird, Professor of Employment Relations, University of SydneyElizabeth Hill, Associate Professor Political Economy and Deputy Director, The Gender Equality in Working Life Research Initiative, University of SydneySydney Colussi, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1598972021-04-29T19:12:49Z2021-04-29T19:12:49Z82% of Americans want paid maternity leave – making it as popular as chocolate<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397674/original/file-20210428-19-tmjqes.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C30%2C5155%2C2276&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Most U.S. parents who take time off work to tend to newborns currently use unpaid leave.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/katie-patel-holds-her-3-month-old-daughter-lucy-as-she-news-photo/1207641553">Whitney Curti/The Washington Post via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397692/original/file-20210428-15-1l1ftlo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397692/original/file-20210428-15-1l1ftlo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397692/original/file-20210428-15-1l1ftlo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397692/original/file-20210428-15-1l1ftlo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397692/original/file-20210428-15-1l1ftlo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397692/original/file-20210428-15-1l1ftlo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397692/original/file-20210428-15-1l1ftlo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397692/original/file-20210428-15-1l1ftlo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<p>The United States is <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-us-is-stingier-with-child-care-and-maternity-leave-than-the-rest-of-the-world-94770">the only wealthy nation</a> that doesn’t guarantee paid leave to mothers after they give birth or adopt a child. The vast majority of Americans would like to see that change. </p>
<p>According to a <a href="https://today.yougov.com/topics/economy/articles-reports/2021/04/15/mothers-fathers-parental-leave-poll">YouGov poll of 21,000 people conducted between March 25 and April 1, 2021</a>, 82% of Americans think employees should be able to take paid maternity leave, including for adoption. That level of support makes this benefit about as <a href="https://www.candyindustry.com/articles/88414-report-more-than-80-percent-of-adults-will-consume-chocolate-this-year">popular as chocolate</a>. In fact, more Americans want to see paid parental leave in place than would like the government to refrain from cutting their <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2019/03/21/retirement-social-security-and-long-term-care/">Social Security benefits</a>. </p>
<p>President Joe Biden’s proposed <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/04/28/fact-sheet-the-american-families-plan/">US$1.8 trillion package of new and expanded benefits</a>, which requires congressional approval, would eventually make it possible for all workers to take up to <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-bidens-paid-leave-proposal-would-benefit-workers-their-families-and-their-employers-too-159880">12 weeks of paid family leave totaling as much as $4,000 per month</a>. This leave would be for mothers and fathers alike, as well as caring for yourself or another loved one.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=NzwC_FQAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">scholars who have extensively studied</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=6ayGbAcAAAAJ&hl=en">paid leave</a>, we have been struck by the persistence of Americans’ positive attitudes toward this benefit.</p>
<p>In our <a href="https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/hd4ct">newly released study</a> about attitudes among U.S. adults regarding paid leave based on data from 2012, 82% of Americans supported parents receiving paid leave – a proportion that’s identical to the recent YouGov poll. </p>
<p>Repeatedly, since then, <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2017/03/23/americans-widely-support-paid-family-and-medical-leave-but-differ-over-specific-policies/">polls have found</a> that <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/27/majority-of-americans-support-progressive-policies-such-as-paid-maternity-leave-free-college.html">at least 80%</a> of Americans support paid maternity leave.</p>
<p>In an era of <a href="https://theconversation.com/political-polarization-is-about-feelings-not-facts-120397">extreme political polarization</a>, it is astounding that so many Americans can agree on anything. Strong support is even apparent across the political spectrum: <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/27/majority-of-americans-support-progressive-policies-such-as-paid-maternity-leave-free-college.html">73% of Republicans, 83% of independents and 94% of Democrats</a> back the policy. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/fact-sheet/paid-family-leave-and-sick-days-in-the-u-s/">Nine states</a> and Washington, D.C. have their own paid family leave programs, and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/federal-paid-parental-leave/2020/09/30/ac8e36c8-0335-11eb-b7ed-141dd88560ea_story.html">federal workers</a> got paid leave in 2020. But only <a href="https://www.bls.gov/ncs/ebs/benefits/2020/employee-benefits-in-the-united-states-march-2020.pdf">21% of U.S. workers</a> can take paid parental leave. The lack of a federal paid leave policy that covers all employees results in the current patchwork of different policies that are difficult to understand and generally not available to most families.</p>
<p>Our research suggests that one reason why paid leave policies have not been more widespread in the U.S. is that Americans are hesitant to support government programs that may require tax hikes. For instance, slightly fewer than half of Americans endorsed using some government funding for paid leave in 2012. Yet, <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/news/2021/02/05/495504/quick-facts-paid-family-medical-leave/">there is evidence</a> that this resistance has been fading, and <a href="https://paidleave.us/state-treasurers">employers are becoming more supportive</a> of these policies as well. </p>
<p>Support for paid leave for fathers used to be relatively low. About 50% of Americans, for example, endorsed paid leave for fathers in the 2012 survey data we reviewed. With <a href="https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/wj2p6">more active fathering</a> gaining popularity since then, support for <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2017/03/23/americans-widely-support-paid-family-and-medical-leave-but-differ-over-specific-policies/">paid paternity leave</a> has been rising. Sixty-eight percent of those surveyed by YouGov in early 2021 backed paid leave for moms and dads alike.</p>
<p>Years of research underscores the benefits of paid <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/healthier-minds-happier-world/202003/the-benefits-paid-maternity-leave-maternal-and-child">maternity leave</a> for women and their families. Our research has demonstrated that when fathers take paternity leave, they tend to develop <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-019-01050-y">better relationships with their kids</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/soz014">partners</a>, become <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-018-0994-5">more actively involved in parenting</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047279419000928">get divorced less frequently</a>.</p>
<p>Given that Americans have wanted paid leave for a long time and its benefits are increasingly clear, we believe that a national paid leave policy that covers all parents is an important step to improving the quality of life in America.</p>
<p>[<em>Get the best of The Conversation, every weekend.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/weekly-highlights-61?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=weeklybest">Sign up for our weekly newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/159897/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Knoester received relevant funding from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD), Award R03HD087875.
. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard J. Petts received research funding from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD), Award R03HD087875. Content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.</span></em></p>Polls have consistently found robust support for this benefit, with a growing share of the public approving of paid time off for dads.Chris Knoester, Associate Professor of Sociology, The Ohio State UniversityRichard J. Petts, Professor of Sociology, Ball State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1598802021-04-29T12:22:39Z2021-04-29T12:22:39ZHow Biden’s paid leave proposal would benefit workers, their families and their employers too<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397661/original/file-20210428-13-c6h85h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4994%2C2882&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Making ends meet when you have a newborn is easier with paid family leave.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/geri-andre-major-holds-her-son-maverick-2-1-2-weeks-on-news-photo/1215007355">John Moore/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The Biden administration is proposing a massive expansion of federal benefits through a 10-year <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/28/politics/american-families-plan/index.html">US$1.8 trillion package</a> that includes new spending on <a href="https://theconversation.com/biden-administrations-39-billion-child-care-strategy-5-questions-answered-159119">child care</a>, the continuation of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/millions-of-american-parents-will-soon-get-a-monthly-allowance-4-questions-answered-156834">expanded child tax credit</a> and more robust <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-steps-the-governments-taking-toward-covid-19-relief-could-help-fight-hunger-152520">nutrition programs</a>. Notably, it would introduce a new federal paid family leave benefit costing an estimated $225 billion over the next decade. If it is fully phased in as proposed, workers could get up to $4,000 a month for a total of 12 weeks in paid leave to care for a newborn, another loved one or themselves.</em></p>
<p><em>The Conversation U.S. asked <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Jc-a1IwAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">Joya Misra</a>, a sociologist who studies how public policies influence inequality, four questions about paid leave in the U.S.</em></p>
<h2>1. How much of a change would this be?</h2>
<p>Federal law currently guarantees many employed Americans the right to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid job-protected leave to care for family members through the <a href="https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/legacy/files/whdfs28a.pdf">Family and Medical Leave Act</a>. Because of eligibility restrictions, <a href="https://www.diversitydatakids.org/research-library/data-visualization/unequal-access-fmla-leave-persists">less than half of all U.S. workers</a> can technically access this benefit. Even fewer of those who are eligible <a href="https://www.clasp.org/publications/fact-sheet/paid-family-and-medical-leave-critical-low-wage-workers-and-their-families">can afford</a> to take advantage of it.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/40204457">U.S. is truly exceptional</a> in this regard.</p>
<p>Employed women get <a href="https://worldpolicycenter.org/policies/is-paid-leave-available-for-mothers-of-infants">paid maternity leave</a> in <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-us-is-stingier-with-child-care-and-maternity-leave-than-the-rest-of-the-world-94770">almost every nation</a> in the world. Many countries also provide workers with paid leave to care for their ailing <a href="https://worldpolicycenter.org/policies/is-paid-leave-available-specifically-for-adult-family-members-health-needs/is-paid-leave-available-specifically-for-elderly-parents-health-needs">parents, partners</a> or other relatives who need care, which is what the Biden administration is proposing. </p>
<p>Nine states, including <a href="https://www.edd.ca.gov/disability/paid_family_leave.htm">California</a> and <a href="https://ctpaidleave.org/s/?language=en_US">Connecticut</a>, and the District of Columbia already <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/paid-family-and-medical-leave-by-state-5089907">offer some form of paid family leave</a>. Their track records provide <a href="https://www.nationalpartnership.org/our-work/resources/economic-justice/paid-leave/first-impressions-comparing-state-paid-family-leave-programs-in-their-first-years.pdf">strong evidence</a> regarding the advantages of paid – as opposed to unpaid – family leave.</p>
<h2>2. How would Biden’s paid leave plan benefit workers?</h2>
<p>When workers need to care for a family member with an illness, or a new child, they often find themselves <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/reports/2016/09/22/143877/the-cost-of-inaction/">out of a job</a>. Researchers have found that the lack of paid leave leads to at least $20.6 billion in lost wages per year. Paid family leave especially helps <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13668803.2019.1635436">low-income U.S. workers</a> stay employed when they need it most. In states that fund paid leave, women are <a href="https://econpapers.repec.org/paper/amuwpaper/2019-07.htm">20% less likely</a> to quit their jobs after having a baby. </p>
<p>Only <a href="https://www.bls.gov/ncs/ebs/factsheet/family-leave-benefits-fact-sheet.htm">16% of Americans with private sector jobs</a> currently get paid leave through their employer; most of them work for big companies like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/best-parental-leave-policies-from-large-us-companies-2019-6#este-lauder-employees-have-20-weeks-to-take-off-10">Facebook and American Express</a>. </p>
<p>Some public-sector workers, but not all, can access paid leave, including those benefiting from a <a href="https://www.commerce.gov/hr/paid-parental-leave-federal-employees">federal paid parental leave policy</a> adopted in October 2020.</p>
<p>Many employees who can technically take unpaid leave can’t do that without <a href="https://theconversation.com/taking-advantage-of-unpaid-leave-can-increase-the-chances-that-workers-will-face-economic-hardship-129163">experiencing financial hardship</a>. In states with paid leave, evidence suggests that those policies make it easier for workers to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13668803.2019.1704398">financially weather a birth, an adoption or a short-term health crisis</a>.</p>
<h2>3. How would employers benefit?</h2>
<p>Researchers have found that paid leave is good for business.</p>
<p>It increases <a href="https://www.russellsage.org/research/reports/future-of-work/leaves-that-pay">worker retention, productivity and loyalty</a>, while also allowing smaller businesses to compete more fairly with big companies. Public opinion polls and surveys have long found that <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2017/03/23/americans-widely-support-paid-family-and-medical-leave-but-differ-over-specific-policies/">most Americans</a>, including small-business owners, <a href="https://smallbusinessmajority.org/our-research/workforce/small-businesses-support-paid-family-leave-programs">support paid family leave</a>. </p>
<p>For example, nearly all businesses surveyed about the effects of the <a href="https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6bm118ss">California paid leave program</a>, adopted in 2004, said that the program had either a positive effect or no noticeable impact on productivity, profits, retention and morale. <a href="https://siepr.stanford.edu/research/publications/paid-family-leave-policies">Employee turnover</a> fell in California once it enacted its paid leave policy.</p>
<p>Other states have seen similar results.</p>
<p>One year after <a href="https://ecommons.cornell.edu/handle/1813/77474">Rhode Island adopted paid leave</a> in 2018, most employers there supported the policy. <a href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w28672">New York employers are also enthusiastic</a>, partly because paid leave makes it easier to deal with employee absences. In <a href="https://bloustein.rutgers.edu/njbia-the-impact-of-paid-family-leave-on-nj-businesses/">New Jersey, most employers</a> said they experienced no change in their profits, performance or productivity after the adoption of that state’s paid leave policy, which they say was easy to implement.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2018/beyond-bls/labor-force-participation-and-employment-rates-declining-for-prime-age-men-and-women.htm">U.S. workforce participation has been decreasing</a> for years, especially for women. Comparing the United States to Canada, some researchers estimate that with more access to paid leave and affordable child care, as many as <a href="https://www.frbsf.org/economic-research/publications/economic-letter/2018/november/why-are-us-workers-not-participating/">5 million more workers</a> could enter the U.S. labor force – boosting the economy. </p>
<h2>4. Is the Biden administration’s estimate of the cost realistic?</h2>
<p>The Biden administration estimates that its proposed paid leave program will cost <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/28/paid-leave-of-up-to-4000-a-month-for-12-weeks-part-of-biden-proposal.html">$225 billion over the next decade</a>. I think that this is a reasonable expectation, as state-based paid leave programs have not been very expensive. </p>
<p>In most states, paid family leave has been funded through <a href="https://search.proquest.com/openview/eb487862db7450354f05099d82568487/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=34391">employee payroll taxes</a>, though some states jointly fund the program between employees and employers. Funding through a payroll tax spreads the cost across millions of workers and employers. </p>
<p>However, at this point, Biden seeks to fund this program and others through <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/bidens-first-speech-to-congress-full-text-11619659158">taxes on people who earn more than $400,000 per year</a> and corporations. </p>
<p>The nonprofit <a href="https://www.nationalpartnership.org/our-work/economic-justice/paid-leave.html">National Partnership for Women and Families</a> estimates that someone earning the median U.S. income, currently around <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEPAINUSA672N">$36,000 per year</a>, would pay about $1.48 per week, or $76.85 annually, to fund this program. In Massachusetts, where I live, workers pay no more than <a href="https://www.mass.gov/info-details/paid-family-and-medical-leave-pfml-fact-sheet#how-does-pfml-work-and-how-much-does-it-cost?-">38 cents</a> per every $100 that they earn to fund paid the state’s paid leave program. Self-employed workers can opt into this system. </p>
<h2>5. How much family leave is parental versus for other kinds of care?</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.edd.ca.gov/Disability/Paid_Family_leave.htm">In California</a>, about half of all paid family leave claims are for new mothers, about one-third are for new fathers and the rest involve care for other family members – a seriously ill older child, a parent or in-law, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse or registered domestic partner. </p>
<p>Providing paid leave for new parents could have a big impact, as currently most U.S. women lack <a href="https://www.nationalpartnership.org/our-work/economic-justice/paid-leave.html">paid maternity leave</a> and even fewer men can take time off to welcome a new baby. That’s unfortunate, in my view, because <a href="https://www.zerotothree.org/resources/204-the-child-development-case-for-a-national-paid-family-and-medical-leave-program">paid leave</a> is associated with better health outcomes for both mothers and children, less stressed families, greater connection to employers and greater economic security for working families. </p>
<p>I believe that federal paid leave to care for relatives is crucial, given the <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-life-expectancies-rise-so-are-expectations-for-healthy-aging-102388">aging population</a> in the U.S. and the growing number of workers who need time off to care for aging family members. With <a href="https://theconversation.com/more-than-1-in-5-americans-are-taking-care-of-their-elderly-ill-and-disabled-relatives-and-friends-138246">1 in 5 adults</a> caring for another adult, many of whom are shouldering financial burdens as a result, a federal paid family leave policy would make a big difference. </p>
<p>[<em>Understand key political developments, each week.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/politics-weekly-74/?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=politics-understand">Subscribe to The Conversation’s election newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/159880/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joya Misra receives funding from the National Science Foundation and Washington Center for Equitable Growth. </span></em></p>If the plan is fully phased in as proposed, workers could get up to $4,000 a month for a total of 12 weeks in paid leave to care for a newborn, another loved one or themselves within 10 years.Joya Misra, Professor of Sociology & Public Policy, UMass AmherstLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1516872020-12-11T04:34:30Z2020-12-11T04:34:30ZThe truth about much ‘casual’ work: it’s really about permanent insecurity<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374349/original/file-20201211-18-hoynly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C769%2C3738%2C2453&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The federal government’s industrial relations “reform” bill offers a new definition of “casual” employment that creates more problems than it solves. </p>
<p>It effectively defines a casual job as anything described that way by the employer at the time a job commences, so long as the employer initially makes “no firm advance commitment to continuing and indefinite work”. </p>
<p>Anyone defined as such loses any entitlement to leave they might otherwise have got through <a href="https://www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au/judgments/Judgments/fca/full/2018/2018fcafc0131">two</a> <a href="https://www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au/judgments/Judgments/fca/full/2020/2020fcafc0084">recent</a> Federal Court decisions.</p>
<p>Fair enough, you might think. Casual jobs are meant to be flexible. There can’t be an ongoing commitment. </p>
<p>But that’s not what the data on “casual employment” tell us.</p>
<p>I’ve drilled into <a href="https://www.griffith.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0024/1212675/What-do-the-data-on-casuals-really-mean-v5.pdf">previously unpublished data</a> from the Australian Bureau of Statistics to get a better sense of what “casual employment” means for those employed as such. </p>
<p>Overall, what I’ve found suggests the “casual” employment relationship is not about doing work for which employers need flexibility. It’s not about workers doing things that need doing at varying times for short periods.</p>
<p>The flexibility is really in employers’ ability to hire and fire, thereby increasing their power. For many casual employees there’s no real flexibility, only permanent insecurity.</p>
<p>The federal government’s new bill will not solve this. It will reinforce it.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/so-much-for-consensus-morrison-governments-industrial-relations-bill-is-a-business-wish-list-151668">So much for consensus: Morrison government's industrial relations bill is a business wish list</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<h2>Casual definitions</h2>
<p>Technically the ABS does not routinely estimate the numbers of casual employees. For a few years (to 2013) it published data on workers who received a casual loading, and it occasionally asks people to self-identify whether they are casuals. But mostly its data on “<a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/6102.0.55.001%7EFeb%202018%7EMain%20Features%7EEmployment%7E4">workers without leave entitlements</a>” (collected quarterly) is used as a proxy measure of casual employment. </p>
<p>About 24% of Australian employees were in this <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/employment-and-unemployment/labour-force-australia-detailed/oct-2020/6291013.xls">boat in 2019</a> – a high proportion compared with most other industrialised countries. </p>
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<h2>Theory versus reality</h2>
<p>The ABS data I’ve analysed includes statistics collected before 2012. But since the proportion of employees without leave entitlements has been relatively stable since the mid-1990s, the results remain relevant. They show:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>about 33% of “casuals” worked full-time hours</p></li>
<li><p>about 53% had the same working hours from week to week, and were not on standby</p></li>
<li><p>about 56% could not choose the days on which they worked</p></li>
<li><p>almost 60% had been with their employer for more than a year </p></li>
<li><p>about 80% expected to be with the same employer in a year’s time.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Very few (6% of “casuals”) work varying hours or are on standby, have been with their employer for a short time, and expect to be there for a short time.</p>
<p>There are many reasons to question whether an employee without leave entitlements could really be defined as a genuinely flexible casual worker. It’s better to just call them “leave-deprived” employees.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/self-employment-and-casual-work-arent-increasing-but-so-many-jobs-are-insecure-whats-going-on-100668">Self-employment and casual work aren't increasing but so many jobs are insecure – what's going on?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>A common feature: powerlessness</h2>
<p>The common features of all leave-deprived employees are permanent insecurity and low power.</p>
<p>Leave-deprived employees are about twice as likely as “permanent” workers (with leave entitlements) to have variable hours. But almost all “permanent” workers with variable hours have a guaranteed number of minimum hours. Less than a third of leave-deprived employees have that guarantee. </p>
<p>Overall, 27% of leave-deprived employees have variable hours and no minimum guarantee of hours. That is the case for only 2% of “permanent” workers (see chart).</p>
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<p>We can think of variable hours as reflecting employers’ flexibility needs, and a guarantee of minimum hours as reflecting employees’ power. The big difference between leave-deprived employees and “permanents” is in the power employees have.</p>
<p>Sometimes you hear the term “permanent casuals”. They should more accurately be called “permanently insecure”. </p>
<h2>Casual loading</h2>
<p>Another sign of low power is how few leave-deprived workers receive the casual loading – the 25% extra pay meant to compensate them for their lack of leave entitlements. </p>
<p>When the ABS used to ask about casual loading, <a href="https://www.griffith.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0024/1212675/What-do-the-data-on-casuals-really-mean-v5.pdf">less than half</a> of leave-deprived workers said they got it. That’s hardly surprising, given how often <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/DocumentStore.ashx?id=35518764-8777-4a20-b8a3-055388114151&subId=514913">breaches of awards</a> have been uncovered. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/bjir.12458?casa_token=4PUAafApPhwAAAAA:xm-CkL1KV_mANDC-2s2NeHa6hTUXwa13XJKFNyUHBT4DACbxINn5JtyCewS9Val0-J9iuBdtZtlY-6eu">study published in 2019</a> found low-paid leave-deprived workers in Australia, on average, were paid <em>less</em> than equivalent “permanent” employees.</p>
<p>Low power is what should be expected when an employment contract only lasts as long as the current shift. A worker might not even get formally terminated, just not be given any more hours.</p>
<h2>Why have casual employment?</h2>
<p>There may be good reasons to have casual employment when work is genuinely intermittent and uncertain. </p>
<p>But that’s not the case for most leave-deprived jobs. They are, instead, long-term and stable – yet still insecure for the employee. The only flexibility in them lies with the employer’s power to withhold work.</p>
<p>Allowing employers to overrule <a href="https://www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au/judgments/Judgments/fca/full/2018/2018fcafc0131">previous</a> court <a href="https://www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au/judgments/Judgments/fca/full/2020/2020fcafc0084">decisions</a> and define who is and is not a casual, as proposed in the current bill, will not overcome any of these problems. </p>
<p>Instead, it will just entrench the practice of employers using “casual employment” to increase their power.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/151687/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The author wishes to thank the Australian Bureau of Statistics (in particular, officers from the Labour Supply and Dynamics section of the Labour Surveys Branch) for assistance in providing the data and useful comments, and the Mining and Energy Division of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union for financial support of the project.</span></em></p>The practice of ‘casual’ employment has become a means to foster insecurity and low power, depriving many workers of leave under the guise of an alleged need for flexibility.David Peetz, Professor of Employment Relations, Centre for Work, Organisation and Wellbeing, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1291632020-04-22T11:56:25Z2020-04-22T11:56:25ZTaking advantage of unpaid leave can increase the chances that workers will face economic hardship<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/328846/original/file-20200418-152576-1284w9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Many severe COVID-19 symptoms last for weeks.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Virus-Outbreak-Massachusetts/01181258a2c84959995e47d9ffdf6e74/1/0">AP Photo/Elise Amendola</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html">United States has more COVID-19</a> cases than any other country. But the American workforce may be hard-pressed to take much time off if they or their loved ones get the disease caused by the new coronavirus.</p>
<p>One big reason for that, I’ve learned by <a href="https://heller.brandeis.edu/facguide/person.html?emplid=4827956b7d8790d23a6e5802190ebaf696c27d36">studying U.S. family and medical leave policies</a>, is that many Americans can’t afford it.</p>
<h2>A patchwork of policies</h2>
<p>To address short-term illness or routine medical care, <a href="https://www.bls.gov/ncs/ebs/factsheet/paid-sick-leave.htm#ref2">almost three-quarters of the civilian workforce can use employer-provided paid sick days</a>. Typically employees get about eight paid sick days, and it’s up to employers to voluntarily provide this benefit. Depending on where they live, millions of Americans can also access <a href="https://www.nationalpartnership.org/our-work/resources/economic-justice/paid-sick-days/current-paid-sick-days-laws.pdf">paid sick days</a> through 10 state or 23 local programs.</p>
<p><a href="http://diversitydatakids.org/research-library/data-visualization/unequal-access-fmla-leave-persists">Almost half of all workers</a> can take up to 12 weeks off without pay and not lose their jobs to care for their newborns and adopted and foster children or if they or a close relative gets cancer or another serious illness, under the federal <a href="https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla">Family and Medical Leave Act</a>, which Congress passed in January 1993.</p>
<p>And thanks to a new law enacted on March 18, 2020, the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/6201">Families First Coronavirus Response Act</a>, many people at workplaces with no more than 500 employees may take two weeks of paid sick leave if they or their loved ones get COVID-19 or have to quarantine – as long as the government hasn’t granted an exemption to their employer.</p>
<p>Realistically though, many working families dealing with COVID-19 will require more than two weeks of paid sick leave. That is especially true for the <a href="https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/diagnosed-with-covid-19-what-to-expect">most severe cases</a>, which can require long hospital stays.</p>
<p>Researchers who studied what happened to some of the first <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJMoa2004500">COVID-19 patients in Washington state</a> admitted to intensive care found that those who survived were spending at least 17 days in the hospital. Even for workers with less severe symptoms, recovery could easily take more than two weeks, particularly if everyone in their household gets sick from this highly contagious disease.</p>
<h2>Limited access</h2>
<p>Beyond sick days, workers have limited access to paid leave to care for or recover from serious illness.</p>
<p>Fewer than 20% of civilian workers have traditionally had access to <a href="https://www.bls.gov/ncs/ebs/benefits/2019/employee-benefits-in-the-united-states-march-2019.pdf">employer-provided</a> paid family leave. In addition, 40% of workers have access to paid medical leave for their own health through their employer’s short-term <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/disability-insurance.asp">disability insurance plan</a>, and 34% have access to this paid leave through long-term disability insurance.
A <a href="https://www.nationalpartnership.org/our-work/resources/economic-justice/paid-leave/state-paid-family-leave-laws.pdf">handful of states</a> provide paid family and medical leave that lasts from four weeks to one year, depending on the situation. But these programs rarely pay full wages, and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13668803.2019.1635436?scroll=top&needAccess=true">low-income workers in particular</a> can find it hard to take full advantage of them – even when they could use more time to deal with a medical problem. </p>
<h2>A hefty price tag</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/04/04/why-workers-dont-always-take-family-or-medical-leave-when-they-need-to/">Researchers asked Americans</a> about their need for family and medical leave and their ability to take it in 2017. Nearly three in four people who said that they had needed leave yet didn’t take it cited concerns over lost wages.</p>
<p>I teamed up with several colleagues to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13668803.2019.1704398">follow up on that finding</a> by estimating how much it would cost workers if they needed to take leave under unpaid and paid leave policies. We found that the typical U.S. worker employed year-round requiring six weeks of leave would lose about US$4,600 in wages.</p>
<p><iframe id="QeUxN" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/QeUxN/6/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>That’s enough money to cover about four and a half months of <a href="https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/ahs/data/interactive/ahstablecreator.html?s_areas=00000&s_year=2017&s_tablename=TABLE10&s_bygroup1=19&s_bygroup2=10&s_filtergroup1=1&s_filtergroup2=1">housing costs</a> – rent or a mortgage payment, along with utilities and other basic expenses tied to keeping a roof over your head.</p>
<p>This short-term setback, of course, is viable for some workers. For example, it’s less of a burden for <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/famee.pdf">families with two earners</a>. However, only about 40% of all families fall into this category. </p>
<p>People with enough savings to tide them through can also afford to take advantage of unpaid leave. But more than one in four Americans would have to borrow or sell something to cover a $400 emergency expense, and 12% could not pay this expense outright, according to the <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/2019-economic-well-being-of-us-households-in-2018-preface.htm%22%22">Federal Reserve Bank</a>.</p>
<p>The same government survey, conducted in 2018, also found that at least a quarter of Americans went without needed health care that year because they couldn’t afford it.</p>
<h2>Increased hardship</h2>
<p>One consequence of losing so much family income by using unpaid leave is that a full 18% of workers who are employed all year and not poor would experience economic hardship in the short run. This means that their family income would dip below twice the <a href="https://aspe.hhs.gov/2020-poverty-guidelines">federal poverty line</a> – currently an annual income of $52,400 or less for a family of four. </p>
<p>In this scenario, working families who were not eligible for help before leave would become eligible for some programs such as <a href="https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/national-medicaid-chip-program-information/medicaid-childrens-health-insurance-program-basic-health-program-eligibility-levels/index.html">Medicaid</a> in certain states.</p>
<p>We estimated that if the U.S. had a paid leave program along the lines of California’s system, 6% of workers would experience economic hardship under paid leave compared to 18% under unpaid leave. </p>
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<p>The coronavirus relief measure will surely make a difference. But it doesn’t let all workers take all the time off that many of them need, and it is <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-federal-sick-leave-law-whos-eligible-whos-not-and-how-many-weeks-do-you-get-134180">only temporary</a>.</p>
<p>[<em>Get facts about coronavirus and the latest research.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=upper-coronavirus-facts">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter.</a>]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/129163/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Pamela Joshi receives funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation for the diversitydatakids.org project.</span></em></p>Not all Americans can take paid leave, and some workers can’t take any time off at all if they or their loved ones get sick. Those are big problems during pandemics.Pamela Joshi, Senior Scientist, Brandeis UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1332262020-03-09T17:14:15Z2020-03-09T17:14:15ZCan I take time off if my child’s school is closed for coronavirus? 5 questions on sick leave laws answered<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/319348/original/file-20200309-118890-c2i20r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=159%2C168%2C5446%2C3572&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Inadequate leave policies means many of us work while sick.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">PeopleImages/Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Editor’s note: Lawmakers <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/12/us/politics/trump-house-coronavirus-relief-bill.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage">are debating a coronavirus relief package</a> that could include emergency paid leave benefits for all workers affected by the pandemic. Meanwhile, the <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/03/11/814474930/coronavirus-covid-19-is-now-officially-a-pandemic-who-says">spread of COVID-19</a> is leaving workers in the United States scrambling to figure out what happens to their job – and their pay – if it prevents them from reporting to work. The answer will depend on your employer’s policy, the laws of your state and the reason you will be away. Elizabeth Tippett, who <a href="https://blogs.uoregon.edu/liztippett/">has spent over a dozen years as a workplace lawyer and scholar</a>, offers a primer.</em> </p>
<h2>1. Can I take time off if I get sick with coronavirus?</h2>
<p>The first thing to do is figure out whether your company has a sick leave policy. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/workhours/sickleave">Sick leave</a> allows you to be paid while you are away from work due to illness. Sometimes companies have a “paid time off” policy instead of a sick leave policy, in which vacation is combined with sick leave into a bank of time that can be used for either purpose.</p>
<p>Many sick leave policies are structured to accrue sick leave over time – for example, one hour of sick time for every 30 hours worked. These hours might roll over from year to year and be capped once you reach a maximum amount. Other times, companies have a lump sum policy, where they award you a fixed amount of sick leave that you can use over the course of the year. </p>
<p>However, not every company has a sick policy – the Bureau of Labor Statistics <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/ebs2.pdf">estimates</a> that roughly a quarter of workers have no access to paid sick leave. Still, it’s worth checking whether your workplace is required to offer sick leave under state or local law. <a href="https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/fact-sheet/paid-family-leave-and-sick-days-in-the-u-s/">Around 10 states</a>, and many additional municipalities, mandate paid sick leave policies. </p>
<p>There is no federal law requiring sick leave, though House Democrats have <a href="https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/Families%20First%20summary.pdf">proposed</a> a bill to address the coronavirus outbreak that would require companies to make 14 days of paid sick leave available to workers in areas that have been declared a public health emergency. Workers could then use the sick leave if they need to stay home due to illness or quarantine or because their workplace or child’s school has closed. Workers forced to stay home for more than 14 days could apply for additional paid leave benefits from the Social Security Agency, which would provide workers with up to two-thirds of their lost wages after those 14 days.</p>
<h2>2. Can I take time off to care for a family member with coronavirus?</h2>
<p>Here, too, you’ll want to check your company’s sick leave policy. </p>
<p>Many policies allow workers to use sick time to care for family members that are ill. State sick leave laws frequently <a href="https://www.nj.gov/labor/forms_pdfs/lwdhome/Legal/earnedsickleave.pdf">require</a> that employers <a href="https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/Paid_Sick_Leave.htm">permit</a> workers to <a href="https://www1.nyc.gov/site/dca/workers/workersrights/paid-sick-leave-law-for-workers.page">use</a> accrued sick leave for caring for family members.</p>
<h2>3. Can I take time off if my child’s school is closed?</h2>
<p>A few states and municipalities – including <a href="http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2017-2018/publicact/pdf/2018-PA-0369.pdf">Michigan</a>, <a href="https://nj.gov/labor/wagehour/lawregs/nj_state_wage_and_hour_laws_and_regulations.html#11D1">New Jersey</a>, <a href="http://docs.sandiego.gov/municode/MuniCodeChapter03/Ch03Art09Division01.pdf">San Diego</a> and <a href="http://library.amlegal.com/nxt/gateway.dll/Illinois/chicago_il/title1generalprovisions/chapter1-24thechicagominimumwageandpaids?f=templates$fn=default.htm$3.0$vid=amlegal:chicago_il$anc=JD_Ch.1-24">Chicago</a> – anticipated a problem like school closures due to a public health crisis and specifically said sick leave can be used in the event of such emergencies.</p>
<p>In those states and cities, your employer’s policy should conform to that language. </p>
<p>Elsewhere, employers tend to design their sick leave policies around more <a href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:CnuF8EFpdSQJ:https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/policies/pages/cms_004049.aspx">routine absences</a> and may not include school closures in their policies.</p>
<h2>4. What if I run out of sick time?</h2>
<p>State and municipal sick leave laws generally require only that employers provide a very modest amount of sick time – <a href="https://namwolf.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/LE-PAC-50-State-Survey-Paid-Sick-Leave-laws-10.16.2019.pdf">typically</a> between one and two weeks per year. And if you just started a new job in recent months, you may not have accrued much sick time. </p>
<p>If you have accrued vacation time, you may be able to use that once your sick leave runs out. Alternatively, sometimes companies officially – or unofficially – let workers take additional time off on an unpaid basis. If you’ve used up your sick leave, you could also try asking if you can have a “negative” sick leave balance, in which you are essentially borrowing from future sick pay accruals, allowing you to continue to receive pay for a limited period of time.</p>
<p>If you or a family member become seriously ill, you might be eligible for up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave under the federal <a href="https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/28-fmla">Family and Medical Leave Act</a>. This leave is available only for workers at companies with more than 50 employees and who have worked there for 12 months or longer. The regulations for the Family and Medical Leave Act state that the <a href="https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=abbd92cdff37c5d32de741cc5ccc1e81&rgn=div5&view=text&node=29:3.1.1.3.54&idno=29#se29.3.825_1113">“flu”</a> is generally not considered a serious enough condition to qualify for leave, unless “inpatient hospital care is required or unless complications develop.” </p>
<p>Some states – like <a href="https://www.edd.ca.gov/Disability/Paid_Family_Leave.htm">California</a> and <a href="https://paidfamilyleave.ny.gov/paid-family-leave-family-care">New York</a> – also have family and medical leave laws that cover a broader range of employees and may provide <a href="https://www.edd.ca.gov/Disability/Paid_Family_Leave.htm">partial pay</a>. However, these generally require that the employee or the ill family member develop a serious health condition, beyond your average flu symptoms.</p>
<h2>5. Can I stay home if I’m worried about catching COVID-19 from co-workers?</h2>
<p>Tech companies with hubs in the Seattle area have responded to a coronavirus outbreak in that state by advising or allowing <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/03/05/812173963/coronavirus-amazon-facebook-google-microsoft-urge-seattle-workers-to-stay-home">employees</a> to work remotely. </p>
<p>Some <a href="http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2017-2018/publicact/pdf/2018-PA-0369.pdf">state</a> and <a href="http://library.amlegal.com/nxt/gateway.dll/Illinois/chicago_il/title1generalprovisions/chapter1-24thechicagominimumwageandpaids?f=templates$fn=default.htm$3.0$vid=amlegal:chicago_il$anc=JD_Ch.1-24">municipal</a> sick leave laws authorize employees to use sick leave in the event of “closure” of an employee’s place of business in a public health emergency.</p>
<p>Otherwise, your best option is to check whether the company has a telecommuting policy that allows remote work. Even so, such policies generally give the company discretion whether remote work is compatible with your job and the needs of the company. </p>
<p>Failing that, you could try using up any vacation time you’ve accrued. But with <a href="https://news.artnet.com/art-world/rome-raphael-coronavirus-quarantine-1797390">tourist hotspots</a>,<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/can-you-play-games-with-no-fans-sports-brace-for-the-coronavirus-impact-11583681730?mod=hp_major_pos1#cxrecs_s">sporting events</a> and <a href="https://www.kvue.com/article/entertainment/events/sxsw/sxsw-austin-2020-cancelled-petition-coronavirus/269-3423a862-7cd7-49be-8125-41d84b8c6a13">festivals</a> shutting down, it may not be much of a holiday.</p>
<p>_This is an updated version of an article originally published on March 9, 2020.</p>
<p>[<em>Insight, in your inbox each day.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=insight">You can get it with The Conversation’s email newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/133226/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elizabeth C. Tippett does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A workplace scholar addresses some common questions workers may have about taking time off due to COVID-19.Elizabeth C. Tippett, Associate Professor, School of Law, University of OregonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1083232019-02-20T11:38:34Z2019-02-20T11:38:34ZPaid family leave is an investment in public health, not a handout<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259179/original/file-20190214-1751-uhky3n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=724%2C0%2C4500%2C3050&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Protected time for new families could pay health dividends later.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/parents-their-newborn-baby-boy-on-729856267">Jacob Lund/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Most Americans – <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/the-president-and-women-in-white-have-paid-leave-in-common/">on both sides of the political aisle</a> – <a href="http://fortune.com/2016/04/15/an-overwhelming-majority-of-americans-support-paid-parental-leave/">say they support</a> <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ivanka-paid-parental-leave-hearing_us_5b467744e4b022fdcc55b790">paid parental leave</a>. However, we haven’t yet found the political will to make it happen. In part, that’s because the discussion always seems to start with the question, “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/06/upshot/a-california-dream-for-paid-leave-has-an-old-problem-how-to-pay-for-it.html">How do we pay for it</a>?” </p>
<p>That question goes only halfway, though. <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=q676bXMAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">As a researcher who focuses on stress and health within families</a>, I believe there’s a more important question to ask: “How do we pay for the lack of parental leave?” In other words, how does the stress of a rapid return to work affect parents, and in turn, cost society as a whole? Recently, I <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/amp0000376">sought to answer this question</a> by <a href="https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/64f37">delving into research</a> on the many changes that new parents experience in the first weeks, months, and years after the birth of a new child – and the possibility that all these changes might not just compromise children’s well-being, but also put parents’ long-term health at risk. </p>
<h2>A global outlier</h2>
<p>How fast should women “bounce back” after giving birth? Instantly, at least according to celebrity magazines. And many workplaces in the United States deliver the same message. The typical American maternity leave <a href="https://www.today.com/health/two-weeks-after-baby-more-new-moms-cut-maternity-leave-4B11229443">lasts only 10 weeks</a>, and a quarter of new mothers <a href="http://inthesetimes.com/article/18151/the-real-war-on-families">return to work within two weeks</a> of delivering a child.</p>
<p><iframe id="TJFvx" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/TJFvx/3/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>The U.S. is <a href="https://www.worldpolicycenter.org/policies/is-paid-leave-available-to-mothers-and-fathers-of-infants/is-paid-leave-available-for-fathers-of-infants">one of the only countries in the world</a> that does not <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/07/15/422957640/lots-of-other-countries-mandate-paid-leave-why-not-the-us">guarantee paid leave to new parents</a>. The 1993 Family Medical and Leave Act provides for unpaid leave – but almost half of U.S. workers are not eligible, and many cannot afford time off without pay. Compare this to the rest of the globe, where <a href="https://www.thisisinsider.com/maternity-leave-around-the-world-2018-5">paid maternity leave is standard</a>, averaging 18 weeks internationally and extending beyond six months in many developed countries.</p>
<h2>New parent stress, long-term effects?</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190628963.013.23">Economists have examined paid family leave policies</a> and measured their impact on worker retention and productivity, as well as health outcomes. But their studies typically focus on population-level trends. As a psychologist whose work takes a more intimate look at family processes, I wondered: How does the stress of work-family conflict affect the well-being of new parents?</p>
<p>I reached out to Stanford economist and family leave policy expert <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=vuOKLC4AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">Maya Rossin-Slater</a> to help digest the body of research on health and family leave. Together with developmental neuroscientist Diane Goldenberg, we reviewed existing studies and proposed future directions for research and policy in a <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/amp0000376">recent paper published in American Psychologist</a>. </p>
<p>Psychologists already know that the transition to parenthood is a high-risk time for <a href="https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/postpartum-depression-facts/index.shtml">mental health problems</a> like anxiety and depression. New parents are about <a href="https://www.postpartumdepression.org/resources/statistics/">twice as likely to report clinically significant depression</a> as are adults at other life stages.</p>
<p>Physical health risks may worsen during this time as well. For example, obesity: <a href="https://www.fitpregnancy.com/pregnancy/pregnancy-health/how-pregnancy-weight-gain-could-contribute-obesity-epidemic">many mothers gain in excess</a> of physician-recommended weight guidelines during pregnancy, and may struggle to <a href="https://www.laboratoryequipment.com/article/2019/01/changes-metabolism-lead-postpartum-weight-gain">lose this weight after birth</a>. New fathers also gain weight: <a href="https://digest.bps.org.uk/2018/07/25/weight-gain-in-new-fathers-is-a-real-phenomenon-thats-been-subjected-to-a-striking-lack-of-research/">“Dad bod” is real</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/258587/original/file-20190212-174873-k8rl48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/258587/original/file-20190212-174873-k8rl48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/258587/original/file-20190212-174873-k8rl48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258587/original/file-20190212-174873-k8rl48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258587/original/file-20190212-174873-k8rl48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258587/original/file-20190212-174873-k8rl48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258587/original/file-20190212-174873-k8rl48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258587/original/file-20190212-174873-k8rl48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Dads have big adjustments during this transition, too.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/0mRerwRVqVA">Zach Vessels/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>Stress influences both mental health and weight gain, and may also <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120402162546.htm">affect immune and inflammatory processes</a> that can contribute to long-term health risks. Costly chronic diseases like heart disease and cancer drain the economy, and yet few researchers have zeroed in on the transition to parenthood as a potential inflection point in risk for these diseases. Are these risks magnified when parents lack protected time to recover from birth and adjust to parenthood? If so, the U.S. may be setting up new parents – and especially low income parents – to fail. </p>
<p>In making sense of the research that speaks to health in parents, we started by first identifying what changes over the transition to parenthood in order to spotlight potential areas of vulnerability.</p>
<h2>Neurobiological changes</h2>
<p>At the neurobiological level, researchers are finding that new parents’ hormones and brains may be particularly changeable – what scientists call plastic.</p>
<p>Research on rodents has found that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2280">pregnancy hormones remodel the maternal rat brain</a>, helping prep the mother-to-be for infant care. Human mothers also show dramatic changes in hormones across pregnancy and the postpartum period. One neuroimaging study scanned women pre-pregnancy and then tracked them over several years, scanning them again after childbirth. Surprisingly, <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/pregnancy-causes-lasting-changes-in-a-womans-brain/">women’s brains actually shrunk</a> over the transition to motherhood, showing reductions in volume particularly in areas linked with social cognition. Pruning may have helped these areas work more efficiently to support caregiving, since women who lost more brain volume also reported stronger attachment to their infants. </p>
<p>Fathers may also undergo neurobiological transformation across the transition to parenthood. Studies have found <a href="https://theconversation.com/postpartum-depression-can-affect-dads-and-their-hormones-may-be-to-blame-81310">decreased testosterone in new dads</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/17470919.2014.933713">changes in men’s brain volume</a> in early parenthood, for example. </p>
<p>These neurobiological changes may shape parents’ long-term health, although research evidence is still scant. Scientists also don’t know much about how stress affects the neural and hormonal changes that can accompany parenthood. But what we do know is that new parents are undergoing big biological changes, making this time a sensitive window for the brain. </p>
<h2>Psychological and social change</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/258354/original/file-20190211-174857-1wgult6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/258354/original/file-20190211-174857-1wgult6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/258354/original/file-20190211-174857-1wgult6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258354/original/file-20190211-174857-1wgult6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258354/original/file-20190211-174857-1wgult6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258354/original/file-20190211-174857-1wgult6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258354/original/file-20190211-174857-1wgult6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258354/original/file-20190211-174857-1wgult6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A new baby can come with a lot of shocks to the system.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/XHF_paR2PUE">Jessica To'oto'o/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Although many parents eagerly await the arrival of their new baby, becoming a parent can also be challenging, isolating and even overwhelming. Infants require constant care, which can be cognitively and emotionally taxing and physically exhausting. For parents who must return to work soon after birth, the scramble to find trustworthy childcare can also take a financial toll. </p>
<p>Large studies have found that <a href="https://theconversation.com/have-children-heres-how-kids-ruin-your-romantic-relationship-57944">well-being takes a dip</a> during early parenthood; one found that becoming a parent spurred a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-015-0413-2">larger decline in happiness</a> than events like divorce, unemployment or the death of a partner. <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/home-base/201602/can-you-babyproof-your-relationship">Couples’ relationship satisfaction also nosedives</a> in the postpartum period, as they adjust to new roles and responsibilities.</p>
<p>All of these psychological changes may set parents up for heightened mental health risk, reflected in the elevated prevalence of depression and anxiety during this time. </p>
<h2>Behavioral change</h2>
<p>Parents’ everyday routines are upended after a baby’s arrival.</p>
<p>Take sleep. Anyone who has lived with an infant knows they wake up often at night. It’s been estimated that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kws246">parents lose about 80 hours</a> of sleep a year for the first few years of a child’s life. Fathers may actually <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/04/05/473002684/for-new-parents-dad-may-be-the-one-missing-the-most-sleep">wind up more sleep-deprived than mothers</a>, in part because they return to the workplace sooner. </p>
<p>New parents also report <a href="https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2010-3218">lower levels of physical exercise, may eat less healthy diets</a> and have fewer opportunities to pursue hobbies and get together with friends. Given that sleep, exercise and other healthy routines are strongly linked with well-being, these changes might help explain why new parents show heightened health risks across so many domains. In particular, scientists know that poor sleep increases vulnerability to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beem.2010.07.001">disease</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/28.10.1289">obesity</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/da.1041">mood disorders</a>, so sleep deprivation in the postpartum period may be a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1160560/">key driver</a> of the risks that new parents experience. </p>
<h2>Risk and vulnerability</h2>
<p>So what can one conclude from all of this research? Like many windows of dynamic developmental change, the transition to parenthood is a time of transformation that can spur growth – but also brings vulnerability.</p>
<p>Changes in stress physiology, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.298.14.1685">obesity, inflammation</a> and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3181963/">mental health</a> contribute to a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.298.14.1685">cascade of risks that predict costly cardiac and metabolic diseases</a> down the road. Paid family leave requires significant investment, but might save taxpayers money if it lessens the burden of these chronic diseases on the economy. And our review focused on parents’ health in adulthood, not even scratching the surface of the potential benefits to children that paid family leave policy can bring. For example, mothers with access to leave <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/birt.12230">breastfeed longer</a>, and family leave has been linked with lower rates of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.22012">ADHD and obesity in young children</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259181/original/file-20190214-1754-1yh94n0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259181/original/file-20190214-1754-1yh94n0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259181/original/file-20190214-1754-1yh94n0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259181/original/file-20190214-1754-1yh94n0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259181/original/file-20190214-1754-1yh94n0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259181/original/file-20190214-1754-1yh94n0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259181/original/file-20190214-1754-1yh94n0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259181/original/file-20190214-1754-1yh94n0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Investment in family leave now, payoffs in better health later?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/asian-parents-newborn-baby-close-portrait-733313083">paulaphoto/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
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<p>Research finds that <a href="https://www.webmd.com/balance/news/20180504/loneliness-rivals-obesity-smoking-as-health-risk">loneliness is worse for your health</a> than smoking cigarettes, suggesting that connections with others may play a profound role in population health. Public health investment has led to <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/06/18/smoking-united-states-cigarette-sales/713002002/">dramatic declines in smoking</a> over the last four decades, but hasn’t yet truly tackled <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000103">social cohesion as a public health challenge</a>. What better place to start than by facilitating the first and arguably most important set of social connections – those that blossom within a new family.</p>
<p>This topic is personal for me. When my first child was born, I was a psychotherapy intern at a veterans hospital. As a federal employee, I didn’t qualify for state disability and, as a contract employee, couldn’t access Department of Veterans Affairs leave. My husband, a freelancer, could not take time off without losing income, and I couldn’t quit my job – we needed the health insurance. My wonderful supervisors let me take unpaid time off. But money was tight. Nearby daycares had yearlong wait lists and cost half our combined income. I’m an Ivy League grad with a doctorate, one of the lucky ones, but could barely afford the cost of having a child in the United States. </p>
<p>It doesn’t have to be this way. If Americans reconceptualize parents as a precious national resource, child-rearing as an enterprise that secures the long-term future of the U.S. economy and the transition to parenthood as a window for long-term health, then we can decide as a society that family leave is worth the investment. And there is hope on the horizon: Less than a year after Tammy Duckworth became the <a href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/tammy-duckworth-birth-girl-first-senator-have-baby-maile-pearl-bowlsbey-office/">first senator to give birth while in office</a>, the 2018 midterm elections <a href="https://www.workingmother.com/number-working-moms-in-congress-will-double-in-2019">doubled the number of working mothers in Congress</a>. When President Trump mentioned paid family leave in his <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/at-sotu-trump-says-federal-budget-will-include-paid-family-leave">State of the Union address</a>, legislators from both parties applauded – a rare moment of unity in an otherwise divided Congress. At long last, the United States’ status as a global outlier on family leave policy may be coming to an end.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/108323/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Darby Saxbe receives funding from the National Science Foundation. </span></em></p>The transition to parenthood comes with plenty of stress. A psychology researcher suggests that paid family leave could help lift some of the burden – with positive health benefits down the road.Darby Saxbe, Assistant Professor of Psychology, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and SciencesLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/947702018-04-19T10:50:12Z2018-04-19T10:50:12ZThe US is stingier with child care and maternity leave than the rest of the world<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/215479/original/file-20180418-163991-i3dpgj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Preschool today, success tomorrow.
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Preschool-Child-Care-Costs/f685a528405941b09676c5bc282af732/37/0">AP Photo/Elaine Thompson</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In most American families led by couples, both parents are <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/famee.nr0.htm">in the workforce</a>. At the same time, nearly <a href="https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2016/cb16-192.html">1 in 4</a> U.S. children are being raised by single moms. </p>
<p>Yet child care is generally <a href="https://www.epi.org/publication/child-care-affordability/">unaffordable</a> and paid leave is not available to <a href="https://iwpr.org/publications/paid-parental-leave-in-the-united-states-what-the-data-tell-us-about-access-usage-and-economic-and-health-benefits/">most U.S. parents</a>.</p>
<p>Around the world, however, most employed women automatically get paid maternity leave. And in most wealthy countries, they also have access to affordable child care. </p>
<p>These holes in the national safety net are a problem for many reasons, including one I’ve been <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Jc-a1IwAAAAJ&hl=en">researching</a> with my colleagues for years: Paid parental leave and child care help women <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/sou119">stay in the workforce</a> and <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0730888415615385">earn higher wages</a> over time. This lack of parental leave and child care may explain why the U.S. is <a href="http://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/Issues/2018/03/20/world-economic-outlook-april-2018#Chapter%202">no longer a leader</a> in women’s workforce participation. </p>
<h2>Maternity leave</h2>
<p>The U.S. is <a href="https://www.worldpolicycenter.org/sites/default/files/Work%20Family%20and%20Equity%20Index-How%20does%20the%20US%20measure%20up-Jan%202007.pdf">one of a handful of countries worldwide</a> that does not mandate paid maternity leave. The other four are the low-income nations of Lesotho, Liberia, Papua New Guinea and Swaziland. </p>
<p>Paid leave, which typically lasts at least 14 weeks, needs to be designed thoughtfully. When women can and do take two or even three years off after having a baby, as they may in Hungary, long leaves can limit mothers’ work experience and lead to <a href="http://gas.sagepub.com/content/25/1/5.abstract">discrimination</a>. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/benefits-leave/fmla">1993 Family and Medical Leave Act</a> did mandate 12 weeks of unpaid job protected leave for some American workers. Yet most families can’t forgo the <a href="https://theconversation.com/women-earn-less-after-they-have-kids-despite-strong-credentials-94013">income that moms bring home</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.oecd.org/els/family/database.htm">Denmark</a> offers what I think is a strong example. There, moms get almost 18 weeks of paid maternity leave and dads get two weeks of paid paternity leave. On top of that, couples get up to a total 32 weeks of parental leave, which parents can split. This policy grants parents both the time and resources necessary to care for children, without “mommy tracking” mothers. </p>
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<h2>Child care</h2>
<p>In many wealthy countries, child care and preschool are considered a mainstay of the educational system. But in the U.S., only about half of all children between the ages of 3 and 6 are getting publicly supported child care of any kind, including kindergarten, versus 99 percent of kids that age <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0730888415615385">in France</a>. </p>
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<p>Interestingly, high-quality early childhood education programs are associated with many <a href="https://www.childtrends.org/indicators/child-care/">excellent outcomes</a> for children from lower-income families: higher graduation rates, along with lower rates of teen pregnancy and juvenile crime. </p>
<p>In other words, when governments <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2117807?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">invest in child care</a> and maternity leave, it fosters a more productive, healthy and creative workforce.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/94770/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joya Misra has received funding from the National Science Foundation and the Washington Center for Equitable Growth. </span></em></p>Research suggests that government spending on very young children is a good investment.Joya Misra, Professor of Sociology & Public Policy, UMass AmherstLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/716042017-01-23T01:45:16Z2017-01-23T01:45:16ZPaid family leave policies are expanding, but are new mothers actually taking time off?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/153760/original/image-20170122-10226-166ucnu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Bring your baby to work day?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Office baby via www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The recent presidential campaign reminded us that the U.S. is one of only a handful of countries that doesn’t require companies to provide paid maternity leave. </p>
<p>Maternity leave is important. One of the key reasons is because <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/29/health/paid-leave-benefits-to-children-research/">medical researchers have shown</a> overwhelmingly positive effects when parents are able to spend time with their newborn children. </p>
<p>Fortunately, in the past year a number of <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2016/12/30/these-companies-all-boosted-paid-parental-leave-in-2016/#7867550678d0">major companies announced</a> amazing improvements in maternity and paternity leave policy. <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-05/chobani-gives-parental-leave-as-issue-escalates-in-u-s-election">Chobani</a>, the yogurt company, began giving six weeks of paid leave to all employees, including those working on the factory floor. Then <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2016/12/06/ikea-family-leave/95047768/">Ikea</a>, the large furniture seller, announced all staff were eligible for four months of paid leave when a baby is born. <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2016/12/12/pf/paid-parental-leave-american-express/">American Express</a> announced an even more generous plan, offering 20 weeks at full pay for all workers. <a href="https://www.donaldjtrump.com/policies/child-care">Even President Donald Trump</a> jumped on the bandwagon and announced his support for six weeks of paid maternity leave.</p>
<p>For expectant parents working at companies with newly expanded leave policies, this is great news. However, not all people work for companies with generous maternity or paternity leave programs. Government figures suggest <a href="https://www.dol.gov/wb/paidleave/PDF/PaidLeave.pdf">only 12 percent of workers</a> at private companies have access to paid parental leave.</p>
<p>More importantly, just because a company offers a benefit doesn’t mean workers use it. For example, <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/55-of-american-workers-dont-take-all-their-paid-vacation-2016-06-15">roughly half of all people in the U.S.</a> don’t use all their vacation days.</p>
<p>While knowing figures on access to paid leave is useful, more useful is knowing the number of workers who actually take maternity leave. While maternity leave sounds like a great benefit, if it means a cut in pay or a chance of losing a particular job, some women might not take advantage of the benefit. </p>
<p>Recently, I <a href="http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/pdf/10.2105/AJPH.2016.303607">published research</a> that looks at how many working women today are taking maternity leave compared with a few decades ago. The results are not encouraging.</p>
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<h2>Current state of affairs</h2>
<p>The United States <a href="http://www.worldpolicycenter.org/sites/default/files/Work%20Family%20and%20Equity%20Index-How%20does%20the%20US%20measure%20up-Jan%202007.pdf">is one of only a few countries</a> in the world that does not offer guaranteed paid leave for women after childbirth. Some of the others that don’t offer paid leave are places like Liberia, Papua New Guinea and Swaziland. Moreover, the <a href="http://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C183">United Nations calls for all countries</a> to provide a minimum of 14 weeks of paid leave for new mothers.</p>
<p>What does the U.S. provide? Since 1993 most workers are covered by the government’s <a href="https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/benefits-leave/fmla">Family and Medical Leave Act</a> (FMLA). This law gives eligible workers 12 weeks of unpaid time off to care for a newborn.</p>
<p>However, just because FMLA has been enacted doesn’t mean a new parent takes maternity or paternity leave. Some new parents cannot afford to take leave because they need to pay bills.</p>
<p>Others don’t take leave because they are worried their job might not be available when they want to come back to work. <a href="https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs28a.htm">FMLA states</a> employees taking leave do not have to be given their same job back. Instead, they have to be given an “equivalent” job. Companies and workers might not agree on what is “equivalent.”</p>
<p>There wasn’t any information on actual usage of maternity leave, so I set out to calculate the numbers.</p>
<h2>My expectations</h2>
<p>Before doing any calculations, I expected to see an increasing number of women taking maternity leave for two reasons. First, the U.S. economy has greatly expanded since the early 1990s. <a href="https://bea.gov/NATIONAL/PDF/NIPA_PRIMER.PDF">GDP</a>, which measures what the country produces, <a href="https://www.bea.gov/national/xls/gdplev.xls">has grown about 66 percent</a> since 1994, after adjusting for inflation. The richer the country, the easier it is to pay for improved benefits for workers.</p>
<p>Second, starting in 2004 a few states decided to enact paid maternity leave. <a href="http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-sac-paid-family-leave-california-20160411-story.html">California was first, and it began giving women</a> up to six weeks of paid time off for newborn care as part of its state disability program. A few years later, the states of <a href="http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/03/paid_family_leave_law_works_but_few_know_about_it.html">New Jersey</a> and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/06/24/what-paid-family-leave-looks-like-in-the-three-states-that-require-it/?utm_term=.2309b210a84d">Rhode Island</a> also enacted paid maternity leave programs. <a href="https://www.ny.gov/programs/paid-family-leave-strong-families-strong-ny">Soon New York</a> will become the fourth state offering paid leave.</p>
<p><a href="http://businessmacroeconomics.com/">I</a> was able to calculate maternity leave information using the <a href="http://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps.html">Current Population Survey</a>. This is the survey the government uses to determine the <a href="https://www.bls.gov/cps/">nation’s unemployment rate</a>. Each month the survey contacts about 60,000 households across all 50 states. It records detailed information about everyone in the family. <a href="https://www.bls.gov/cps/revisions1994.pdf">Since 1994 it has identified</a> all people on maternity and paternity leave, regardless of whether it was paid.</p>
<h2>What the data show</h2>
<p>The results are striking. </p>
<p>The data show that maternity leave figures are essentially unchanged since 1994. For example, the number of women on leave in both 1995 and 2014 was almost the same absolute number and the same rate per 10,000 births. </p>
<p>During the average month, about 336,000 babies were born and slightly more than 273,000 women were on maternity leave at the time the survey was taken. Since the survey does not ask parents exactly when the baby was born, it is impossible to know for sure exactly how many of those births resulted in a mother actually taking leave. Nevertheless, if the U.N. guidelines of 14 weeks were being followed in the U.S., we should be seeing almost a million women on leave at any given time rather than the quarter of a million we are seeing.</p>
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<p>To me, it’s startling that the number of women on maternity leave has barely budged even after California and other states have passed paid leave laws. There is no trend after adjusting for these new laws or for the number of births, unemployment rates and recessions. </p>
<p>As for paternity leave, the data show the number of men who have taken it has more than tripled since 1994, to a monthly average of about 22,000 in 2015. Given a third of a million babies are born each month, the figures still mean relatively few men take time off from work to care for a newborn child. </p>
<h2>Paid versus unpaid</h2>
<p><a href="http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/pdf/10.2105/AJPH.2016.303607">My research</a> also looked at changes in paid versus unpaid maternity leave. There the news is slightly better. </p>
<p>Approximately half of all women on maternity leave were paid. This figure is climbing slowly over time. In 1994 about 45 percent of women on maternity leave were paid. In 2015, more than two decades later, the figure was slightly above half. At this rate all women on maternity leave will get paid during their time off in about 200 more years, which is slightly less than how long the U.S. has been in existence.</p>
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<p>The Current Population Survey does not include questions on why people take or forgo parental leave after a baby is born. This means I am not sure what the reasons are behind the lack of change in the number of women on maternity leave, even though the economy has grown dramatically and three states have set up paid leave programs. </p>
<p>Two potential reasons for the lack of change are that the amount of pay provided for women thinking about taking maternity leave is too low and the amount of job protection provided by current maternity leave laws is too weak.</p>
<p>President Trump made a <a href="https://www.donaldjtrump.com/policies/child-care">campaign promise</a> of six weeks of paid maternity leave for all working women. If the legislation fulfilling this promise ensures decent pay and strong job protection, then more of America’s babies will have a better start to their lives.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/71604/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jay L. Zagorsky does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>If President Trump follows through on his campaign promise, new mothers may soon have six weeks of guaranteed paid leave. But something is keeping them from using the benefits they already have.Jay L. Zagorsky, Economist and Research Scientist, The Ohio State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/660522016-10-10T04:52:55Z2016-10-10T04:52:55ZPaid domestic violence leave: how do other countries do it?<p>It’s hard to leave an abusive relationship if you don’t have an <a href="http://dfvbenchbook.aija.org.au/understanding-domestic-and-family-violence/economic-abuse/">income</a>. So, keeping your job can make the difference between escaping and being trapped in a violent relationship.</p>
<p>But holding down a job can be hard if your boss doesn’t allow you time off to move house, deal with crises, meet with lawyers or even work from a different location so your abuser can’t find you at work.</p>
<p>Some employers do offer such flexibility but unions are now calling for a statutory right to <a href="http://theconversation.com/domestic-violence-leave-gains-support-but-lets-do-it-right-51251">paid domestic violence leave</a>.</p>
<p>In its submission to the Fair Work Commission’s awards <a href="https://www.fwc.gov.au/awards-agreements/awards/modern-award-reviews/4-yearly-review/common-issues/am20151-family-and">review</a>, the <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/comment/why-domestic-violence-leave-must-be-enshrined-in-modern-awards-20160622-gpp6zf.html">Australian Council for Trade Unions</a> (ACTU) is seeking ten days of <a href="https://www.fwc.gov.au/documents/sites/awardsmodernfouryr/common/am2051-sub-actu-010616.pdf">paid family and domestic violence leave</a> in all modern awards.</p>
<p>Such measures would cost employers. The ACTU’s proposals have drawn criticism from the Australian Industry Group. The group’s chair, Innes Willox, <a href="https://www.aigroup.com.au/policy-and-research/mediacentre/releases/Union-domestic-violence-leave20.9.16/">argues</a> that:</p>
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<p>Paid domestic violence leave is extremely uncommon internationally. The only country that is known to have paid domestic violence leave at a national level is the Philippines, but the entitlement is not well-known in the country or well-enforced. </p>
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<p>It is certainly true that most jurisdictions do not grant workers a statutory right to paid domestic violence leave. But while domestic violence leave is not common, there are considerable moves to introduce paid domestic leave provisions in Canada, New Zealand and the US.</p>
<h2>Global shift</h2>
<p>Workplace laws in many countries, include Australia, already require employers to take various steps to manage employees who are experiencing domestic violence. Such laws include domestic violence criminal laws, work health and safety laws, anti-discrimination laws and some industrial relations laws.</p>
<p>In 2015, the UK <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-new-psychological-abuse-law-a6789271.html">amended its domestic violence laws</a> to make psychological abuse a crime but did not introduce a statutory right to domestic violence leave.</p>
<p>In Canada, only one province – <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/manitoba-approves-bill-to-offer-victims-of-domestic-violence-leave-from-work/article29255554/">Manitoba</a> – has paid domestic violence leave. Under that <a href="https://web2.gov.mb.ca/bills/40-5/b008e.php">law</a>, employees experiencing domestic violence leave to five paid days of leave and a further five days of unpaid leave. </p>
<p>The federal Canadian government is <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/feds-studying-paid-leave-for-domestic-violence-victims-in-manitoba-ontario/article31610882/">considering</a> providing federal employees a right to paid domestic violence leave. Other Canadian provinces, such as <a href="http://www.ontarioemployerlaw.com/2016/04/15/new-paid-and-unpaid-leaves-proposed-for-ontario-employees/">Ontario</a>, are also considering whether paid and unpaid domestic violence leave should be on their books.</p>
<p>While unpaid leave is available in some jurisdictions within the US, such as the Illinois <a href="http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=2502">Victims’ Economic Security and Safety Act</a>, other states provide employees access to existing paid leave. </p>
<p>This is not in addition to other leave, but instead enables employees to access existing leave in new ways. In <a href="http://mn.gov/gov-stat/images/2014_05_11_wesa_fact_sheet.pdf">Minnesota</a> and the state of <a href="http://lni.wa.gov/WorkplaceRights/LeaveBenefits/FamilyCare/DomViolence/default.asp">Washington</a>, employees are allowed to use their sick leave if they are experiencing family violence.</p>
<p>The US Congress is considering far more expansive laws that will increase employees’ overall entitlement to leave, such as an <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/932/text">act</a> that would provide employees a right to paid leave to help escape domestic violence.</p>
<p>While New Zealand does not currently have a statutory right to paid domestic violence leave, many employers do offer employees such leave anyway. In New Zealand, the prevalence of paid domestic violence leave is influencing public debate on the question of whether or not New Zealand’s statutes should enshrine such a <a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11598860">right in law</a>.</p>
<h2>The Australian situation</h2>
<p>The Australian Industry Group is right to say that paid domestic violence leave is uncommon internationally. </p>
<p>Australia’s Fair Work Act does not provide workers a right to domestic violence leave. But <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/fwa2009114/s65.html">Section 65 of the same law</a> does give employees a right to demand flexible working arrangements. </p>
<p>Under this rule, workers can request that their boss adjust their hours of work, work patterns or work location. The employer may refuse the request only on “reasonable business grounds”.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.fairwork.gov.au/employee-entitlements/national-employment-standards">National Employment Standards</a> (NES) – ten minimum employment entitlements that have to be provided to all employees – in the Fair Work Act do not currently provide for domestic violence leave.</p>
<p>However, the Victorian <a href="https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/cdn.workplaceexpress.com.au/files/31.%20RCFV_Full_Report_Interactive.pdf">Royal Commission into Family Violence report</a> has recommended the NES include an entitlement to paid family violence leave for employees (other than casual employees) and an entitlement to unpaid family violence leave for casual employees. </p>
<h2>Employers lead the way</h2>
<p>While Australia has been slow to adopt domestic violence leave in statute, employers within Australia have led the way in providing employees such leave. </p>
<p>The paid domestic violence leave included in Victoria’s <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/national/paid-domestic-violence-leave-setting-a-world-standard-20121026-28b1w.html">Surf Coast Shire Council</a> in Torquay was one of the first agreements to include such leave in the world. This agreement provided survivors of domestic violence an extra 20 days a year of paid leave.</p>
<p>Since this agreement has been struck, the number of enterprise agreements to include paid domestic violence leave has risen to cover thousands, if not tens of thousands of workers. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/cdn.workplaceexpress.com.au/files/31.%20RCFV_Full_Report_Interactive.pdf">Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence</a> report, released in March 2016, identified 840 enterprise agreements that contained a family violence provision of some kind, most of them providing
for family violence leave. </p>
<p>The public sector is embracing paid domestic leave, with Victoria set to offer employees 20 days paid leave, South Australia 15 days and Queensland ten days.</p>
<p>It is encouraging to see employers lead the way, but Australian workers should have guaranteed access to domestic violence leave. </p>
<p>At a minimum, workers should be able to access their personal/sick leave when they confront domestic violence and, when that runs out, people should receive additional support. We must find ways to give survivors and their children the economic security they need to escape violence and begin to rebuild their lives.</p>
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<p><em>The National Sexual Assault, Family & Domestic Violence Counselling Line – 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for any Australian who has experienced, or is at risk of, family and domestic violence and/or sexual assault.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/66052/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Harpur does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It’s uncommon internationally for workers to have a statutory right to paid domestic violence leave, but things may be shifting.Paul Harpur, Senior Lecturer, TC Beirne School of Law, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/609102016-06-15T09:50:14Z2016-06-15T09:50:14ZFathers also want to ‘have it all,’ study says<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126609/original/image-20160614-22411-5onv6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Dads need support, too.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Have you seen the T-shirt slogan: Dads don’t babysit (it’s called “parenting”)?</p>
<p>This slogan calls out the gendered language we often still use to talk about fathers. Babysitters are temporary caregivers who step in to help out the parents. But the fact is that fathers are spending more time with their children than ever before. In fact, <a href="http://men-care.org/soaf/">American fathers today</a> spend 65 percent more time with their children during the workday than they did 30 years ago.</p>
<p>According to the <a href="http://www.whenworkworks.org/be-effective/resources/national-study-of-the-changing-workforce">2016 National Study of the Changing Workforce</a>, almost half of fathers in heterosexual relationships say they share caregiving responsibilities equally or take on a greater share of caregiving than their partner.</p>
<p>This week we witnessed the release of the first <a href="http://men-care.org/soaf/">State of America’s Fathers</a>, a report that draws on numerous social science research studies as well as new analysis of the 2016 National Study of the Changing Workforce. </p>
<p>As a sociologist who studies fatherhood worldwide, I think the most important message of this report is a simple one: Fathers are parents, too. </p>
<p>But dads’ desire to “have it all,” as we once talked about in relation to working mothers, means that they are also having difficulties successfully combining work and family. The report, among other things, suggests that we need to pass paid, non-transferable, job-protected leave. I agree.</p>
<h2>Work-life balance is important to men, too</h2>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126642/original/image-20160615-22408-1ru8i53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126642/original/image-20160615-22408-1ru8i53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126642/original/image-20160615-22408-1ru8i53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126642/original/image-20160615-22408-1ru8i53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126642/original/image-20160615-22408-1ru8i53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126642/original/image-20160615-22408-1ru8i53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126642/original/image-20160615-22408-1ru8i53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126642/original/image-20160615-22408-1ru8i53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">American dads are spending more time with their children.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://flic.kr/p/f5wwhN">Harsha K R/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>The State of America’s Fathers report highlights that a majority of fathers experience work-life conflict, and that this has increased over time. For example, <a href="http://familiesandwork.org/site/research/reports/newmalemystique.pdf">60 percent of fathers</a> in dual-earner families say they have problems balancing work and family, compared to 35 percent of such fathers in 1977.</p>
<p>This is likely due to the fact that a majority of fathers feel they don’t spend enough time with their children. This situation may be due to the continued pressures on men to earn a good income. According to <a href="http://www.whenworkworks.org/be-effective/resources/national-study-of-the-changing-workforce">the 2016 National Study of the Changing Workforce</a>, 64 percent of Americans feel that fathers should contribute financially even if taking care of the home and children. Millennials are just as likely to agree with this statement as baby boomers. </p>
<p>In my own research published in my book <a href="http://nyupress.org/books/9780814749166/">“Superdads,”</a> fathers continually expressed frustration at not being able to balance work and family. It’s no longer a question of whether fathers want to be more active in their children’s lives, but how they will do so when workplace and government policies do not offer the support necessary.</p>
<h2>Men need work-life policies as much as women</h2>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126644/original/image-20160615-22404-14c4auj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126644/original/image-20160615-22404-14c4auj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126644/original/image-20160615-22404-14c4auj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126644/original/image-20160615-22404-14c4auj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126644/original/image-20160615-22404-14c4auj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126644/original/image-20160615-22404-14c4auj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126644/original/image-20160615-22404-14c4auj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Striking a balance is work for men, too.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">KONCENSUS/flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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<p>A big part of the problem is that the workplace has not really adjusted to working women and caregiving men. </p>
<p>Instead the idea of the <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11162-012-9256-5#/page-1">ideal worker</a>, someone (usually a man) who can focus entirely on work while a partner (usually a woman) takes care of everything else, still holds power among employers. But the State of America’s Fathers report reveals that most workers have some family responsibilities, and only a minority of families fit the “traditional” breadwinner father, homemaker mother model. Only 20 percent of couples live off of one income. This means that most fathers have partners, female or male, who also work, and more single fathers have shared or primary custody of their children. These men do not have the choice to push off caregiving onto someone else.</p>
<p>Like working mothers, working fathers face stigma when they seek greater flexibility in the workplace. A very similar number of fathers (43 percent) and mothers (41 percent) think asking for flexibility could have a negative impact on their careers.</p>
<p>In addition, there is <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/josi.12015/abstract">evidence</a> that leave-taking negatively impacts chances of promotion, frequency of raises, and performance evaluations, and these penalties are stronger for men than women. Men who seek flexibility are even seen as <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/josi.12016/abstract">less masculine</a>.</p>
<h2>The benefits of father involvement</h2>
<p>Why should we be so concerned about men’s ability to balance work and family? </p>
<p>The simple answer is that fathers who take leave and spend more time with their children are really good for their families. Their <a href="http://www.fira.ca/cms/documents/29/Effects_of_Father_Involvement.pdf">children benefit</a> from better cognitive, behavioral, psychological and social outcomes. </p>
<p>According to the State of America’s Fathers report, these fathers also pave a path toward greater gender equality as their sons are more accepting of gender equality while their daughters feel more empowered. Their partners benefit because they are more likely to be satisfied with their relationships and less likely to experience <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740901001372">postpartum depression</a>. They are also more able to focus on their own careers, which has the potential to benefit the larger economy as well, with one estimate showing an <a href="http://www.strategyand.pwc.com/media/file/Strategyand_Empowering-the-Third-Billion_Full-Report.pdf">increase of 5 percent in GDP</a> if women’s labor force participation rate equaled men’s rate. <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2001.00381.x/abstract">Fathers themselves benefit</a> by engaging in healthier behaviors and creating more ties to family and community.</p>
<p>And in the end, men are just as capable of caring for children as women. It is the act of providing direct care for a child that increases one’s capacity for caregiving. Men’s <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/111/27/9792.abstract">body chemistry</a> reacts the same way as women’s to close physical contact with infants. In other words, fathers show similar hormonal changes, and this means they can experience similar levels of bonding with their children.</p>
<h2>Paid parental leave could help</h2>
<p>In an analysis of policies in 185 countries, the International Labour Organization finds that the <a href="http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_242615.pdf">U.S. is only one of two countries</a> that does not guarantee paid parental leave. In fact, the <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/12/12/among-38-nations-u-s-is-the-holdout-when-it-comes-to-offering-paid-parental-leave/">U.S. ranks dead last among 38 OECD nations</a> in government-supported time off for new parents. </p>
<p>Our only national policy, the <a href="https://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/">Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993</a>, offers up to 12 weeks of leave, but in addition to being unpaid, it only covers about three-fifths of workers due to a number of restrictions. The act only applies to employers with 50 or more employees and only covers employees who have worked for that employer for at least one year. Additionally, 20 percent of employers that are required to comply with the FMLA offer fewer than 12 weeks of leave to employees who are spouses/partners of new mothers (mainly fathers), in direct violation of the law. Amazingly, <a href="https://www.dol.gov/wb/PaidLeave/PaidLeave.htm">only 12 percent</a> of U.S. workers in the private sector have access to paid family leave, and this applies to a paltry <a href="https://blog.dol.gov/2015/06/08/lack-of-paid-leave-compounds-challenges-for-low-wage-workers/">5 percent for low-income workers</a>.</p>
<p>Worldwide paternity leave is becoming more prevalent, with <a href="http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_242615.pdf">71 countries</a> now offering it. Fathers are most likely to take leave when it is specifically designated for them. Around <a href="https://www.hrw.org/report/2011/02/23/failing-its-families/lack-paid-leave-and-work-family-supports-us">90 percent of fathers in Nordic countries</a> take leave. </p>
<p>These programs may seem out of reach, but we have seen successful paid leave in the U.S. Funded by a very small payroll tax of 0.9 percent, California’s groundbreaking Paid Family Leave program helped new parents spend more time caring for their children. At the same time most employers have seen no cost increases or abuse and in fact witness <a href="http://cepr.net/documents/publications/paid-family-leave-1-2011.pdf">less turnover</a> as employees are able to care for their new children and return to work.</p>
<p>We are also starting to see more models of paid leave among <a href="http://men-care.org/soaf/">companies</a> such as Ernst & Young, Facebook and Twitter, but I would argue we need something more far-reaching. The FAMILY Act, for example, proposed by U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York to provide up to 12 weeks of paid leave, is a start.</p>
<p>This will help fathers to have it all, and be the parents they want to be.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/60910/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gayle Kaufman served as a reviewer for the State of America's Fathers report. </span></em></p>Like moms, more dads are sweating the work-life balance. While just 35 percent of dads reported such conflicts in 1977, today 60 percent struggle to bring up baby while bringing home the bacon.Gayle Kaufman, Professor of Sociology, Davidson CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/506452015-11-19T11:18:27Z2015-11-19T11:18:27ZStronger work-family policies help women entrepreneurs build better businesses<p>Today, November 19, marks <a href="http://womenseday.org/">Women’s Entrepreneurship Day</a>, an opportunity to celebrate and raise awareness about women entrepreneurs around the world. </p>
<p>Entrepreneurship is arguably crucial for job creation and economic growth. Yet persistently high levels of gender inequality in this segment of the workforce suggest that women remain a severely undertapped resource when it comes to growing a vibrant economy. And that is one key feature of <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/soc4.12083/abstract">persistent gender inequality</a> we see across the workforce more broadly. </p>
<p>Although more women have launched businesses in recent years, their companies typically employ fewer workers and are less lucrative and growth-oriented. For instance, in <a href="http://www.womenable.com/content/userfiles/2014_State_of_Women-owned_Businesses_public.pdf">2014</a>, woman-owned businesses in the US employed only 6% of the workforce and created less than 4% of all revenues – figures that are about the same as they were in 1997. And that’s despite being primary owners of more than <a href="https://www.nwbc.gov/sites/default/files/Women%20Owned%20Businesses%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf">one-third</a> of all private companies.</p>
<p>That led me to pose the question: are there certain policies that can promote women’s engagement in <em>high-growth</em> forms of entrepreneurship, not just business creation in general? Understanding the sociological reasons behind persistent gender inequities like these is central to my research.</p>
<p>In a <a href="http://asq.sagepub.com/content/60/4/671.full.pdf+html">recent analysis</a>, I show some surprising new evidence that work-family policies may be of critical importance. I found that when women have access to policies like paid leave or subsidized childcare, their odds of starting a venture oriented toward economic growth and job creation are higher. When they don’t, their odds are lower. </p>
<h2>Childcare, family leave and women entrepreneurs</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13668803.2011.571395">Scholars</a> and <a href="http://www.oecd.org/els/family/closingthegap.htm">policymakers</a> already agree that government spending on childcare and family leave facilitates women’s employment. </p>
<p>For instance, a higher fraction of women are employed in countries with generous work-family policies like Sweden and Denmark than in countries like the US. This isn’t surprising: when workers have access to the time and resources needed to combine employment with caregiving, few women find it necessary to cut back their hours, change careers or “opt out” of the workforce when they have family obligations. </p>
<p>In contrast, there are fewer desirable employment options for workers with family responsibilities in places like the US that lack supportive work-family policies. In these contexts, conflicting work and family demands more often prompt women workers to search for more flexible options. </p>
<p>Interestingly, self-employment is often one such option, given that it affords the luxury of control over schedules, hours and the physical location of work. So women who lack access to supportive work-family policies may actually be more likely to start a business simply because they lack attractive options in traditional wage and salaried employment. </p>
<p>But there’s a downside to that. When a person is motivated by a lack of attractive options, it’s harder for them to create particularly large businesses or to develop and introduce a brand new product or service to the market. </p>
<h2>Entrepreneurship as fallback</h2>
<p>To evaluate the relationship between work-family policies and entrepreneurial activity among women, I analyzed Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) survey data from 24 countries between 2001 to 2008. GEM collects data and publishes research on entrepreneurship in more than 100 countries.</p>
<p>My analysis appears in the current issue of <a href="http://asq.sagepub.com/content/60/4/671.full.pdf+html">Administrative Science Quarterly</a> and is summarized in a policy brief for the <a href="https://contemporaryfamilies.org/family-friendly-and-women-entrepreneurs-brief/">Council on Contemporary Families</a>.</p>
<p>The research relies on a series of multilevel statistical models that estimate how gender gaps in entrepreneurial outcomes and motivations vary according to the relative availability of paid leave, subsidized childcare and part-time employment opportunities. </p>
<p>Each model adjusts for several individual and country-level factors that are known to correlate with gender differences in entrepreneurship outcomes, such as age, education, GDP and unemployment rates.</p>
<p>My analysis shows that the gender gap in the probability of starting and owning a business is lower in countries where public provision for childcare is meager or nonexistent compared with those that are more generous. </p>
<p>For instance, in a context with no state childcare spending, such as the US or Canada, a woman’s probability of being engaged in entrepreneurial activity is about two-thirds that of a man. By contrast, in a context where the state spends generously on childcare, such as Denmark or Finland, it’s only about half that of a man. </p>
<p>Further, I find evidence that this pattern likely arises because work-family policies are linked to women’s, but not men’s, entrepreneurial motivations. Specifically, women business owners are less likely to report pursuing entrepreneurship because they lacked a more desirable employment option in countries with generous subsidized childcare and/or ample part-time job opportunities. </p>
<p>This finding suggests that, in the absence of supportive work-family policies, women entrepreneurs are more likely to pursue entrepreneurship as a <em>fallback</em>, rather than a first-choice employment strategy. </p>
<h2>Supportive policies are linked to more vibrant startups</h2>
<p>But this dynamic leads to a particularly interesting outcome: the women who do run businesses in supportive contexts are more likely to be engaged in growth-oriented forms of entrepreneurship. </p>
<p>For example, I found that women business owners employ more workers, express more ambitious growth intentions and are more likely to report introducing a brand new product or service to the market in countries where government policies mandate between 20 and 30 weeks of full-time equivalent paid maternity and/or parental leave. Further, when government spending on childcare is relatively high (eg, more than 0.5% of GDP), women business owners are somewhat more likely to sell products or services that require the use of new technology.</p>
<p>Why? When individuals pursue entrepreneurship out of a necessity – like the need for better work-family balance – they tend to start smaller, less lucrative and less aggressively growth-oriented businesses. But such a necessity doesn’t arise as often when supportive policies give the average woman a broader menu of attractive opportunities in standard employment. </p>
<p>So the women who <em>do</em> pursue entrepreneurship in contexts with supportive work-family policies end up being a more select group motivated by a desire to build larger, more innovative organizations that will have a more substantial impact on the economy and job growth. </p>
<h2>Work-family policies offer a choice</h2>
<p>What all this means is that work-family policies facilitate entrepreneurship as a choice between two decent options: a secure job or the realization of a market opportunity, as opposed to a choice that is driven by necessity. </p>
<p>In doing so, they minimize the number of women who are vulnerable to the financial instability that is often part and parcel to small, low-growth forms of self-employment. </p>
<p>For instance, in the US, women-owned businesses have been <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/geristengel/2015/08/26/women-owned-businesses-a-tale-of-two-types-of-entrepreneurs/">struggling to survive</a> more in recent years than in the past, a trend that fuels women’s <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0927537100000178">lower incomes</a>. Yet <em>growth-oriented</em> women entrepreneurs have been found to be among <a href="http://www.babson.edu/Academics/centers/blank-center/global-research/gem/Documents/GEM%202013%20Global%20Report.pdf">the happiest workers</a> in our economy.</p>
<p>These findings underscore the idea that women’s disadvantages in entrepreneurship are rooted, at least in part, in the inflexible employer expectations that often disadvantage them in standard wage and salary jobs. </p>
<p>Policies like subsidized childcare and paid leave, which mitigate work-family conflict, promote women’s engagement in more innovative and job-generating forms of entrepreneurship – the kind that are arguably so critical to economic growth.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/50645/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Thebaud receives funding from the Kauffman Foundation and the National Science Foundation. </span></em></p>Women in countries with better access to policies like paid leave and subsidized child care are more likely to start a business oriented toward growth and job creation.Sarah Thebaud, Assistant Professor, Sociology, University of California, Santa BarbaraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/367512015-01-29T11:02:03Z2015-01-29T11:02:03ZLeaning in at work and at home: why workplace policies matter<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/70313/original/image-20150128-22325-1gskcwz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">But what awaits her at home? </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/48/Computer_industry_entrepreneur_workshop.jpg/1280px-Computer_industry_entrepreneur_workshop.jpg">Dell's Official Flickr page</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The latter part of the twentieth century saw a dramatic increase in women’s participation in the workforce as well as a rise in ideological support for women’s employment in the United States. </p>
<p>However, women still comprise only a small fraction of elite leadership positions in <a href="http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/fast_facts/levels_of_office/documents/cong.pdf">government</a> and <a href="http://fortune.com/2012/07/18/update-fortune-500-women-ceos-hits-a-record-20/">business.</a> And they still do the lion’s share of the housework and caregiving. In other words, the “gender revolution” appears to have stalled.</p>
<p>What accounts for this stalled progress toward gender equality in the workplace and at home? </p>
<p>A piece of the answer may lie in <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/unbending-gender-9780195147148?cc=us&lang=en&">workplace policies and practices</a> that continue to limit men’s and women’s ability to establish equal relationships at home. </p>
<p><a href="http://asr.sagepub.com/content/80/1/116.abstract">Our recent research</a> casts new light on the large disconnect between workplace policies and the ideals that individuals hold about how to balance work and family life.</p>
<h2>Politicians are beginning to pay attention</h2>
<p>Childcare costs are high, <a href="http://asr.sagepub.com/content/75/2/303.short">hours are increasingly long</a> and/or inflexible, and only a lucky minority of workers has access to paid family leave. </p>
<p>Indeed, politicians and the general public have started to pay close attention to this set of issues. </p>
<p>President Obama recently announced that all federal employees would have access to <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-we-think-paid-leave-workers-right-privilege-valerie-jarrett">six weeks of paid leave</a> to care for a new child. In his recent State of the Union address, he also emphasized the importance of access to childcare. </p>
<p>This thinking is not taking place in a vacuum. Recent scholarship by <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-unfinished-revolution-9780195371673?cc=us&lang=en&">Kathleen Gerson</a>, for example, shows that many young, unmarried men and women ideally prefer egalitarian relationships where both partners contribute equally to earning, housework, and caregiving. </p>
<p>However, many of the individuals that Gerson interviewed doubted that this egalitarian vision would be attainable due to the long hours required for a successful career and the long hours required to raise a child. </p>
<p>When considering this reality, many favored a “fallback plan” that was more in keeping with traditional gender roles. For example, men’s fallback plans were largely for a relationship in which they would be the primary breadwinner. </p>
<p>Gerson’s insights, as well as other research in this area, point to the idea that work-family preferences develop largely in response to the <a href="http://www.ucpress.edu/book.php?isbn=9780520256576">limited set of options</a> that workplaces currently offer. </p>
<p>It is also possible, however, that the lack of equality at work and at home results from <a href="http://yalepress.yale.edu/book.asp?isbn=9780300072150">deep-seated, ingrained beliefs</a> about men, women, caregiving, and earning. </p>
<p>To date, it has been challenging to separate out the extent to which preferences for employment and caregiving are produced by social conditions (such as unsupportive workplace policies) versus individuals’ deeply held beliefs about what roles men and women should play. </p>
<p>In a new study, which appears in the February 2015 issue of <a href="http://asr.sagepub.com/"><em>American Sociological Review</em></a>, we provide new insight into this set of complex issues. </p>
<h2>What would be your ideal work-life balance?</h2>
<p>We conducted a survey experiment with a nationally representative sample of unmarried, childless men and women between the ages of 18 and 32 in the United States. </p>
<p>We asked our respondents how they would ideally like to structure their relationship with a future spouse or partner in terms of balancing work and family life. </p>
<p>As part of the study, we randomly assigned participants to one of three groups. </p>
<p>The first group was asked to state their preference for balancing work and family life and was provided with four options:</p>
<ul>
<li>They would share earning and caregiving responsibilities equally.</li>
<li>They would be the primary breadwinner.</li>
<li>They would be the primary homemaker/caregiver. </li>
<li>They would prefer to remain financially autonomous even if that meant not having a life-long relationship.</li>
</ul>
<p>The second group of respondents was asked the same question about balancing work and family life, but was not offered the “egalitarian” relationship option. Given that young men and women often perceive egalitarian relationships as unattainable, this set of options was designed to mirror the challenges of the current workplace environment.</p>
<p>The final group of respondents was provided all four of the response choices, including the egalitarian relationship option. But, in addition, they were told to assume that supportive work-family policies — specifically, subsidized childcare, paid family leave, and flexible scheduling options — were available. This set of options aimed to identify how workplace policies directly affect individuals’ relationship preferences.</p>
<h2>Gender equality wins the day</h2>
<p>What do the results of our study show? </p>
<p>First, we find that when the option is made available to them, the majority of respondents — regardless of gender or education level — opt for an egalitarian relationship. </p>
<p>Importantly, though, when supportive workplace policies are assumed to be in place, women are even more likely to prefer an egalitarian relationship and are much less likely to want to be the primary homemaker or caregiver. </p>
<p>Finally, when respondents cannot select an egalitarian option and there is no mention of supportive work-family policies, respondents tend to gravitate toward more gender-traditional types of relationships.</p>
<p>A key implication of these findings is that for both men and women, current work-family arrangements are often suboptimal and result from a particular set of unsupportive workplace policies and practices. </p>
<p>What our study helps to show is that if we were to change the workplace policy environment, we would likely see changes in people’s preferences for balancing their work and family life. </p>
<p>Removing the obstacles to attaining an egalitarian relationship, in other words, has the potential to promote gender equality, enabling more women to “lean in” at work and more men to “lean in” at home.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/36751/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David S. Pedulla has received funding and support from the National Science Foundation, Time-sharing Experiments for the Social Sciences, the Russell Sage Foundation, the Center for Poverty Research at UC-Davis, the Horowitz Foundation for Social Policy, and the Employment Instability, Family-Wellbeing, and Social Policy Network.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Thebaud has received funding from the National Science Foundation, the American Sociological Association, the Kauffman Foundation, the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Chicago, and the Center for the Study of Social Organization at Princeton University. </span></em></p>The latter part of the twentieth century saw a dramatic increase in women’s participation in the workforce as well as a rise in ideological support for women’s employment in the United States. However…David S. Pedulla, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology & Population Research Center, The University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal ArtsSarah Thebaud, Associate Professor, Sociology, University of California, Santa BarbaraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.