The Problem

The United States is the only high-income country – and, along with Papua New Guinea, one of only two countries worldwide – with no national paid maternity leave policy. Although six states have legislation mandating statewide paid parental leave and some employees receive paid leave as a fringe benefit from their employer, access to paid parental leave remains unjust. Statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor show that only about 16 percent of workers in the private sector have employer-provided paid family leave, and this figure drops to 7 percent of workers who earn less than $14 an hour. Similarly, parents who struggle the most to meet the financial needs of raising children are the least likely to have access to any workplace accommodations, and research shows this burden is disproportionately borne by women with lower levels of income and education.

The 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) established national unpaid family leave regulations, but it has resulted in notable inequities. The FMLA allows employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a newborn child or to tend to the illness of one's relative or self. However, only employees working for an employer with 50 or more employees and who have worked at least 1,250 hours over the past 12 months are eligible. According to estimates from the Kaiser Family Foundation, these exemptions mean that only about 60 percent of Americans are eligible to use FMLA leave. Even for those who are eligible, the leave is unpaid, often resulting in parents forgoing or abbreviating their leave. A Pew Research Center poll showed that, among those who take parental leave, the majority did not take as much as they needed or wanted; when asked the reason, 69 percent indicated they could not afford to lose more wages or salary. The failure to provide paid leave to new parents is a significant social justice issue with implications for successfully balancing work and family obligations. Moreover, given the gendered division of household labor (including parenting), as well as gender inequalities in the workplace (e.g., the pay gap and glass ceiling), the absence of a mandate to provide paid leave reflects a form of institutional discrimination for working mothers.