Persuasive Essay On Maternity Leave

Only 9% percent of American companies offer paid paternity leave for all their employees (Ramnarace,). Since Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) are underpaid, it is very hard for fathers to be able to take a long absence from work and not be paid for the time off. 86 percent of men said they would not take a paid leave unless they made at least 70 percent of their current salary (Ramnarace,). There are 79 countries that have laws that require companies to offer paternity leave for fathers. There are 29 countries in Africa, 7 in Asia, 5 in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, 12 in Lain America, 2 in the Middle East, and 24 in the Developed Economies (Ramnarace,). The United States is still behind by only having 4 states that have adopted the new laws allowing fathers a leave of absence from work with some sort of pay. While the current family leave law allows for 12 work weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period, I believe the law should be expanded worldwide to allow paid leave for all fathers without using their accumulated paid leave credits (Parental).

It is vital to recognise the long-term value fathers uptake of parental leave brings to children’s wellbeing, reduced gender stereotyping, family economic stability and women’s employment prospects. Researchers Duvander and Jans (2009) found a decrease in gender stereotypes within the family and an increased involvement with children, which last as the child ages. The research revealed that the longer the length of leave taken by fathers, including where parents had separated, the greater amount of contact fathers had with their children as well as the greater amount of time they spent on household chores compared to fathers who took little to no leave (Duvander & Jans, 2009; Hass & Hwang, 2008; Ray, Gornick & Schmitt, 2010). Research has shown the important impact of fostering a relationship between both a child’s mother and father has shown a positive long term for a childs cognitive development and social and emotional wellbeing (Cabrera, Tamis-Lemonda, Bradley, Hofferth & Lamb, 2005; Sarkadi, Kristiansson, Oberklaid & Bremberg.

Research from Israel shows that when more time is given off to new fathers, the more their brain changes to better suit them to be a parent (Thompson). Being around the new child and caring for them allows the father to share responsibilities that a baby brings along. Having time to dedicate solely to the child gives the father the ability to bond with their baby. A study by two Columbia University professors discovered that fathers who are given time off (two or more weeks) are more involved with their child’s lives in nine months, proving that better parental relationships come from paid paternity leave (“Columbia News”). Paternity leave also creates a foundation of trust between father and child, and relieves the pressure put on mothers. When fathers are around immediately after the baby is born, mothers are not forced to do all the work around the house while caring for a newborn. The two-week (or more) time frame when fathers are around would allow for a period where both parents can get settled and adapt to taking care of the child. In Sweden, to qualify for government benefits, the father is required to take off two months from work before the child becomes eight years old. More research has proven that for every month that fathers took leave to take care of their child, the income of mothers increased about 7% (Johansson, Elly-Ann). Thus, paternity leave not only benefits the newborn child, but also mothers. This paid leave can give new parents the ability to get to know their child and adapt to the new responsibilities. There are a multitude of countries that provide paid paternity leave, and the United States is one of nine counties who does not have this option. There is no reason that fathers should not have an allotted time to spend at home with their child and spouse, and so this country should mandate the option of giving paid paternity

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

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

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

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

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

Recently women’s rights and women’s equality in the workplace has come back to the fore as a topic for discussion in government agencies and the United Nations. Whilst this is a very important topic, when it comes to time off from work when a new child is born, women in the US have some provision, whereas men have none.

The birth of a baby is a very important time in the lives two of parents. During this time all parents should be allowed special bonding time with their babies. Nearly 20 years after the passage of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), it is time to take stock of U.S. policy on parental leave, particularly as it affects infant care and child development (Time off with Baby). The problem with this Leave is that it is unpaid and sometimes parents can’t afford to not work and take care of their family.

The U.S. has recently became the only industrialized nation not to mandate paid leave for mothers of newborns when Australia - the only other developed country that didn’t have a paid paternal policy - just passed a parental leave law in 2010. Most of the rest of the world has paid maternity leave policies, too. Papua New Guinea – a developing country – is the only other country that does not. Additionally, several countries in Europe give new fathers paid time off as well or allow parents to share paid leave i.e. Sweden (huffingtonpost.com).

Paternity leave should be a right for all male workers for two weeks. Paternity leave is a period of absence from work granted to a father after or shortly before the birth of his child. Usually, pregnant women who are nearly due for delivery are able to take parental leave from their employment, what about men? Shouldn’t they have the ability to go on leave for the birth of their children? Paternity leave should be granted for male workers for many reasons. This essay will consider some of those reasons, such as if the partner is not well after the birth of the child, needs care and supervision or if she is going through tough pregnancy and needs her male partner to assist her delivering their child. It is also important for an infant-father bonding as much as an infant-mother bonding after the child is born. Also if a horrible circumstance occurs like mother passing away during her delivery, that would leave the father as the first and only carer.

Every single person should be aware of its rights and benefits as a worker in a company. A benefit that commonly women get is, “Maternity leave,” or “Family leave.” This an principally significant topic, since in some companies, and corporations this right is not truly respected, and some employees don’t know how to fight for their privileges.

In some instances, one salary may not be sufficient to maintain the family needs. When a woman takes up maternity leave depending on the circumstance, her spouse may want to be there to assist. In taking up paternity leave the father can be present to lend his support in one way or another. Taking time off from work to be at home with the family for a few weeks does not take away a man’s role in the family. Fathers play an important role in child-rearing. A man who loves his family and has family values would see no fault in staying at home for a few weeks to lend support and assist his spouse with little things like change diapers, give baths, make meals and clean the house. While the “rest of the men” are doing “stuff”, men who are confident and value their family do “stuff” with them.

Companies should offer paternity leave for expectant fathers. By offering paternity leave for fathers-to-be companies allow fathers to be a benefit of paid or unpaid time off work to care for their child, make arrangements for the child’s welfare, and preparation for the adoption of a child. Generally, offering paternity leave for fathers allows them to benefit the birth of a child. Companies that provide the option of paternity leave grant these fathers the privilege of being present for labor, delivery, and any other emergency procedures that may be necessary. Paternity leave provides the father with an advantage to be able to care for their