Persuasive Essay On Paid Maternity Leave

America being one the most industrialized nations it is shocking to most to discover that it does not provide a more beneficial maternity leave when compared to its European counterparts. Not only is Europe leading the way for a lengthier leave of absence for new mothers, they also provide financial benefits to those families with newborns, to American society this is not considered a cultural norm, in fact it is even bizarre to some that having a child while in the work force would even be beneficial. Consequently, the difficulty in accessing a reasonable maternity leave in America creates long term effects on a child’s development.

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).

Becoming a parent is beautiful yet stressful time in many people's lives. Emotions of joy and worry fill the mind of expecting parents as they work to provide a loving and financially stable home for their family. Both parents wish to actively support their child and their spouse during this time of transition, however, corporations are making this task difficult. Maternity leave is a benefit that most companies provide, but only for their female employees. Male employees are not given the same opportunity to share the responsibility of childcare with their wife or to develop a bond early on with their child. Providing fathers maternity leave would give them time to dedicate themselves to the growth of their child, allow the mother to heal from giving birth, and promote equality within the family unit and in the workplace.

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

Maternity leave is a retreat that all mothers should have the opportunity to experience after childbirth. The birth of a child can be exciting, exhausting, and challenging for all new mothers experiencing the joys of parenthood. Unfortunately for some working mothers living in the United States, maternity leave is not always guaranteed. The United States is one of the only developed countries in the world that doesn’t guarantee paid maternity leave. An idea so common in other countries is considered a luxury benefit for hard-working mothers in the United States.

Women in this world have a right to bear children and take care of them. As a new parent, there are millions of questions, worries, and decisions one deals with throughout the whole child's life. When a child is first born, a mother has to decide whether or not to breastfeed or formula feed. The nutrition a baby receives in the first months of life is what determines if the baby has a good or bad start. Women should breastfeed their children because breastfeeding boosts chances of success for their child, allows their baby to receive natural immunity from antibodies, mothers are less likely to develop diseases such as cancers or diabetes, and breastfeeding stimulates oxytocin to promote bonding between mother and child. Breastfeeding is the best choice for a baby.

Just extend the American employee maternity leave time by a weak. Because not as many workers will be needing this, and because of the money, again saved from other changed policies, this wouldn’t be that big a money issue. Also, as long as the workers receive some form of extension added onto that maternity leave time, then it will satisfy those staff employees.

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.

Currently, the U.S. is the only modernized country not to offer paid leave to new mothers (Hall). The one legal protection offered by the U.S government is the Family and Medical Leave Act, or the FMLA. Since it became legislation in 1993, the FMLA has guaranteed a new mother job security for twelve weeks after her child is born. It does not, however, mandate pay. The FMLA also has other downsides. Women are only secured their twelve weeks of leave if they work a minimum of 1,250 hours a year and work for a company with fifty or more employees (Hall). This means that only two out of every five women qualify for protection (Hall). If a women does not qualify, it is left to her employer’s discretion to decide how long she will get to stay with her

Today there are two countries in the world that do not currently guarantee paid maternity leave for employed new mothers and/or expecting mothers, those countries are the United States and Papua New Guinea, according to the International Labour Organization, an United Nations agency, which recommends a minimum 18 week maternity leave (Rubin 2016, p.1). In recent years, the controversial issue of guaranteed maternal leave has been a prominent topic of debate amongst political activists and elites, particularly in the United States, where reform is a feasible option but has yet to be achieved. It is this absence of policy that serves to provide guaranteed maternal for all working mothers that has been linked to significant health related issues; these adverse effects not only impacts those mothers, but their children as well. Although paid maternal leave remains a controversial matter, policy reform that implements such leave is not only a feasible option in the United States, both economically and politically, it is an ethical necessity in order to facilitate the well-being of American women. Thus, in order to work toward ethical political/governmental policy that supports the well-being of women in the United States’ workforce, it is crucial that guaranteed paid maternal policy is implemented.

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.

Today there are two countries in the world that do not currently guarantee paid maternity leave for employed new mothers and/or expecting mothers, those countries are the United States and Papua New Guinea, according to the International Labour Organization, an United Nations agency (Rubin 2016). In recent years, the controversial issue of guaranteed maternal leave has been a prominent topic of debate amongst political activists and elites, particularly in the United States, where reform is both an ethical protection for employees and a feasible option for employers, but has yet to be achieved. It is this absence of policy that has been linked to significant health related issues of which does not only effect mothers, but their children as well. In addition to these adverse health impacts, it generates economic hardships to mothers and families. Thus, the consequences to mothers, families, and newborns that the absence of guaranteed paid maternal leave presents and the potential benefits of guaranteed paid leave for these individuals as well as employers, creates a case for policy reform in this particular area that would implement such protection.

But as I kept reading I learned even with the Affordable Care Act there is many loopholes companies can go through depending on the size of the firm and type of employee. These women were stripped of their rights; therefore, proper laws should be put in place to avoid situations like these ever again. It was disheartening to read how these women were treated by their workplace. Women are the ones who bring life into this world, they create a human being inside their body. Pregnancy which any woman who has been pregnant would know is not easy, it's painful, tiring, and sometimes almost unbearable. We should be doing everything we can to make sure a woman who is pregnant is comfortable. It’s so simple to make one designated place for women to pump their breastmilk. If a pregnant woman needs to rest she has every right to take a break, she’s carrying around another person inside her. Also, when a woman is pregnant her body is changing drastically and it’s uncomfortable for them. The loopholes that companies can go through should be abolished, there needs to be a set strict law on accommodations for pregnant/breastfeeding women. Lastly it’s not fair for a woman who’s pregnant to have to take a leave of absence before her due date and for it to be unpaid. When they go on maternity leave they should

We all care about a family, we would all drop everything if they were to extremely sick out of nowhere. The only thing that is stopping us from doing this is our work. As medicine keeps on advancing, people will start to live longer than in the past. That would mean that we would have to be very careful with our parents, but how are we going to take care of them if something were to happen to them and not just the elderly but everyone that we care about. Our children, our sisters and brothers, our uncle and aunts and cousins, who knows what could happen to all our loved ones. If we were to get some sort of program or law that would let us be able to take care of our families, then we should make sure that we have job protection and some sort of income that would help us out during the tough times. We should also make sure that every person that is working has the same benefits as every other worker in the U.S. In Lisa Belkin’s article “Paid Family Leave”, she states that we, as a country, should have paid family leave like many other countries around the world. It should not just have to deal with maternity or paternity leave but it should also deal with our sick relatives. The benefits that would come with this are good but the problem that most people have with this program is where the money would come from and if this program were to affect everybody or just a select handful.

Despite the advantages of paid parental leave, the United States trails behind other developed countries in guaranteeing these options. In fact, America is currently “one of the only two nations (the other being Papua New Guinea) that do not guarantee paid maternity leave to new mothers” (Baum II and Ruhm 333). Last year, according to the Pew Research Center, only fourteen percent of workers had access to paid family leave (Desilver). Instead of choosing to extend paid leave for their employees, many American businesses opt to offer unpaid family leave that is available to almost ninety