The United States Should Not Mandate Paid Maternity Leave For Working Women

Men and women also have different opinions and reactions to leaving the house for work, Dorment says. Men today want to be better fathers than men in previous generations, men still feel like they have to provide for the family, even if they have wives that bring in forty-five percent of the family income (Dorment 709). This is why men feel as though they can work long hours away from home. They feel as though they are sacrificing time with their kids to provide for the family (even though they may still miss their kids). Women, Dorment points out, have a different reaction to leaving their kids to go to work. They feel guilty and experience

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.

Studies suggest that when the number of children in the home rise, and as the age of the youngest child decreases, there are more conflicts within the family. In establishing relationships with children, parents struggle to manage work and family, including having insufficient time to completely focus on both the necessities of work and family (Cichy, Stawski, & Almeida, 2012). Due to new job obligations, MJ experiences work stress independently, enhancing personal and financial stressors. There can be an adverse effect between job security and father-child relationship due to fathers striving to secure careers so they are able to provide for their family. As personal stressors are experienced more regularly, so are perceptions that one’s work obligations increase negative effects on their family life (Minnotte, Pedersen, & Mannon, 2013).

There is data to support the idea of a mother taking time off or a woman reducing her working hours to part-time will hurt her significantly in the career world. The reason for this sudden break in a woman’s career being motherhood. The most popular reason for working less hours is in a law firm is for a mother to take care of her child. Taking this additional time off decreases the chances of the mother receiving a partnership immensely. When doing this, the mother also risks the idea of herself being seen as “not serious about her career”, permanently damaging her chances of promotion at the private practice. However, mothers are no less likely than childless women to receive a

In recent history, the majority of the movement regarding the gender gap in the workplace has been in response to the opportunity available to males versus female. Today however, that debate topic has shifted to explain why opportunity does not grantee professional success and what role society plays on that restriction. It was already said by Sandberg that a difference in biology affects the choices individuals make, and that issue alone is independent from any social construct that would usually affect choices. Slaughter outlines one of these societal flaws is in the “unspoken rules” or norms of hiring and firing in Washington. She states, “to admit to, much less act on, maternal longings would have been fatal to their careers.” Often a euphemism for being fired is saying that one is leaving to focus on homemaking. It seems to be implied by the authors that often, merely having a family that deserves time and

Within a household, women and men, mothers and fathers, have different roles and responsibilities, much of which are based on the person’s gender. Typically, women or mothers are “responsible for the emotional, social, and physical well-being of her family” (Lober 80), “most of the hands-on family work” (Lorber 81), and keep up of the house. The men or fathers are usually seen as the “bread winners” of the family. Due to this and the work they do outside of the house, men usually have little to no responsibilities to the family and within the home. It is not unusual for women to clean the house, make sure the children are well taken care of, and cook while the man, or father, is at work. When he gets back home, after work, it is expected for him to relax and unwind. Although they are a couple with similar obligations, the divide of them is not equally distributed among the two and offer either one different results.

In the article " Lean In: What Would You Do If You Weren't Afraid " written by Sheryl Sandberg, a Chief Operating Officer at Facebook and previously Vice President of Google and Chief of Secretary of Treasury, Sandberg discuss the expectations placed on women in the work arena. Most men work in an expert setting, though women tend to work full or low maintenance and are, notwithstanding staying at home to be a mother. Discuss how a woman should have it all, a profession, a family, and an education, but society consequently made women feel as though they aren't made to finish such things. She cites Judith Rodin, President of Rockefeller Foundation: “My generation fought so hard to give all of your choices. We believe in decisions. But choosing to leave the workforce is not something we thought so many of you would make “(645). Ladies should work 40 hours per week and return home and deal with their children, essentially working a second full-time work. This brought on numerous women to lessen their hours or leave the workforce.

Due to these beliefs women are marrying later, having fewer children and divorcing more often. Men use to except that their careers would be more important than their wives’ and that they would do less child care, and because of these conflicting attitudes, women sometimes feel unable to work even if they want to. Also according to Stuart Sidle “the husbands work load had a strong influence on decisions to leave the workforce with women with husbands working over 45 hours per week having a greater likelihood of leaving the workforce than women with husbands who worked between 35-45 hours per week

Robert Dorment’s summary from his article talked about that women always complained about men did wrong but men who worked so hard for their family and work-life balance. Richard used that word “castigate” for men that means women scold men, but they did not realize men worked so hard. Other quote about the castigation of men, “…person whose husband, by her own admission, sacrificed much in his own academic career to do other heavy lifting with their children, all so she could pursue her dream job and then complain about it, bitterly, in the pages of a national magazine” (Dorment 708). Anne-Marie Slaughter explained that women who get promotion from other positions that they realized they do not have spent time with their family and some women who leave their jobs because of their family reasons. The quote said, “It is unthinkable that an official would actually step down to spend time with his or her family that this must be a cover for something else” (Slaughter 682). Third article called Women, work and work/life balance: Research roundup talked about the wage inequality and unequal responsibilities between men and women. Women have more family responsibilities than men do because some women are staying at home while taking care of their kids. Last article, Work-Life Balance – An integrated Approach: The case for joint and several responsibility talked about the

NBC News reported that 14 percent of U.S. employers offer paid leave for new dads , which has made the country into the only developed nation that does not guarantee the paid time off. Most employers do not support the idea of men and women together getting maternity leave and that the mother should be the only one to get paid time off. Apparently men do not deserve paternity leave, because if companies were forced to give paternity leave to men and women, for months at a time, it would seriously injure the economy and all the businesses. This opportunity cost is much greater then the necessity for men to be at home with the mother taking care of the baby. On the other hand if dads stay home take and take care of the newborn they will be more directly involved in childcare. The Organizations for Economic Co-Operation and Development released a study in January 2013 and found out that dads who spent more time with their kids, at least two weeks after birth are more likely to be involved in their care in the years to follow. Despite how much it would injure the company’s business, the opportunity cost would be worth it if studies have shown that father would play more of an active role in the child’s life.

Professional ambition and responsibilities are usually time consuming, which leads to less family time. With professional careers, one has to prioritize their life and the needs of their family, by creating a balance between work and family concerns. Providing that the stigma associated with male says that they are "bread winners" and should be able to provide for the family 's financial needs. Men are expected to be hardworking and demanding. While the females are responsible for the nurturing of the child, men often feel emasculated when the tables turn. Even though there 's a change in the cycle and responsibilities of parents, they should be available to child in their times of need. White collared individuals should not impede family time; instead they should have a sense of evenhandedness. Therefore, professional ambition should be subordinated to family concerns, a parent should stabilize the period available by setting boundaries and creating schedules which they abide by.

To break the cycle of disadvantage we should look at it from the perspective of a woman in the workplace. Organisational culture needs to shift away from the perceived ideal worker and begin to embrace a new model to support women in the paid workforce. Research has shown that providing family friend benefits does not further segregate women. The implementation of family friendly programs has shown to broadly impact the workplace by increasing commitment and productivity (Casper & Buffardi 2004). Research shows policies have a positive impact on employees regardless of whether they are likely to use the flexibility or not (Bagilhole, 2006, Roehling et al. 2001). Social expectations that see the ideal worker as someone who works full-time for their entire working life is a model designed for men and is not a practical or equitable expectation for women. Organisations need to redesign jobs and careers to support women to work flexibly to meet carer responsibilities while continuing to be productive members of the workforce. Women should be provided with access to paid parental leave entitlement and full superannuation for any period of absence, this will ensure that women retire in an equitable position. Women retuning to work after periods of parental leave, should be supported to update their skills through access to training aimed at overcoming skills gaps. Organisations should provide a comfortable place for breastfeeding and additional breaks to meet these

Whenever we hear a story on the news of a woman or her family struggling because they’re being refused maternity leave it breaks our hearts. These women, expecting mothers, have to carry or have carried a child for roughly 9 months. Most if not all have done so by being on their feet all day and have only had the required minimum for breaks. Is it then wrong to ask for maternity leave? Should pregnant women not be allowed some work accommodations? Well, contrary to popular belief, maternity leave is more than just a time for a woman’s gestation period or relaxation. In a country with a population of more than 308 million women I think maternity should be a right. So, then who is to blame for the lack of maternity leave? The answer: male bosses. It’s thanks to these bosses that once women are mothers, they have to go back to work as soon as possible. All these new mothers are told by their male bosses that they are expected back as soon as they can. These men allow little to no maternity leave for women in the work force. And I think we can all agree that this is a serious issue for our nation. There must be a solution to this detrimental illness afflicting our country. Which is why I have proposed a solution that will benefit not only women but our whole nation. If male bosses are forced to wear maternity belts they will feel sympathetic to the struggles of pregnant women. They in turn will be motivated to give paid maternity

According to the United Nations sustainable development goals, or SDGs, is a universal set of 17 goals that the policies of the United Nations need to use in order to frame their policies. These goals include gender equality, no poverty, good health and well-being, and reduced inequalities. Paid maternal leave is one such policy that has the ability to play a critical role in implementing the commitments of SDGs. Research has shown that paid maternal leave has been shown to improve both maternal and child health. According to the journal, “Paid parental leave and family leave in the sustainable developmental era” paid maternal leave has been associated with lower infant mortality rates and higher immunization rates. The Family and Medical Leave Act, the FMLA, is a law gives women

Many employees encounter extreme difficulty with striking the balance between work and family responsibilities. Such a challenge is due to the majority of working people take responsibility to take care of their children, disabled family members of children. As a result, the work-family conflict occurs due to the failure of the current American labor market to effectively adjust to the need and concerns of the working parents, particularly when it comes to single mothers. However, there exist a range of laws and rights which protect single mothers from discrimination in the workplace, such as the Family and Medical Leave Act, and the 1964 Civil Rights Act (Kaminer, 2016). Additionally, Kaminer (2016) assumes, “ther are numerous reasons why women work and, consequently, the problem of balancing work and parenting obligations is not going to disappear” (p. 5). Hence, many women work for supporting their families because of low incomes, which increase the issue of single parent families and increase in divorce rate. Similar to many male workers, women are also aware of the personal satisfaction and accomplishment from their employments.