#maternity leave
On the outside, I’m like
Meanwhile, on the inside…
Meanwhile I’m over here like …
Just how difficult is it to be a working parent in the U.S. these days? huffingtonpost has this sobering chart.
The U.S. lags significantly behind other developed countries in key areas such as paid maternity or paternity leave (it’s one of just three countries with no such provision— the other two are Oman and Papau New Guinea), paid family and sick leave, and affordable early childhood education. As a result, notes reporter Laura Bassett, the percentage of women participating in the workforce is relatively low:
In 1990, the U.S. had the sixth-highest female labor participation rate among 22 of the world’s wealthiest countries. Today, the U.S. ranks 17th.
Meanwhile, the White House Council of Economic Advisors has this new report on working families, part of the Obama administration’s ongoing campaign to explore ways of using federal workplace policy to improve the lives (and incomes) of parents and children. Yesterday, the White House hosted a daylong summit on working families, where President Obama told the audience,
“Family leave, child care, workplace flexibility, a decent wage — these are not frills, they are basic needs. They shouldn’t be bonuses. They should be part of our bottom line as a society. ”
Find video of that conference here.
(Infographic by Alissa Scheller for The Huffington Post.)
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DECEMBER 2 - SUSAN WOJCICKI
“Unless we make a change, the future of tech will look just like it does today,” cautioned YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki at this October’s Grace Hopper Celebration, a gathering which brought together over 12,000 female technologists. For Wojcicki, the bleak statistics around women in this industry shouldn’t just be a wake up call for much-needed change, but rather our country’s next “Sputnik” moment.
Women, for example, hold just 26% of all jobs in tech and by 2020, jobs in computer science are projected to grow three times faster than the national average. “If women don’t participate in tech, they are losing the chance to influence the largest economic and social shift of this century,” said Wojcicki. “It threatens our country’s continued economic prominence and risks our future competitiveness. And it should awaken all of us to act,” she argued.
Ranked number 9 on Forbes’ list of the World’s Most Powerful Women, Wojcicki believes that solving for tech’s gender imbalance isn’t just a pipeline or a retention issue–it’s both. She outlined her blueprint for achieving industry parity, starting with engaging more girls in STEM education at an early age. Tackling misperceptions—that computer science is boring or that girls aren’t good at it—is fundamental. “We need to give girls the opportunity to see what computer science actually is… they need to see for themselves how inspiring, how creative, how impactful computer science can be,” said Wojcicki.
She also believes that if tech wants to be a more inviting industry for women, paid maternity leave is a must. She has a unique vantage point having been Google’s first employee to take maternity leave (she helped craft its policy,) and the only person to have taken five of them while at the company. “Each of those [maternity] leaves has enriched my life, my career. They left me with the peace of mind, knowing that I could return after spending the time that I really wanted and needed at home with my new baby,” said Wojcicki.
While education and industry reform are critical to solving for tech’s gender imbalance, Wojcicki also stressed the need for women to be proactive as they navigate their careers. “Look out for yourself, be an advocate for yourself. And don’t feel guilty about it,” she said. “And above all, we have to take it as our personal responsibility to show the next generation of girls and the current generation of women that they belong in computer science and with it, they can change their world.”
Text for today’s post was taken from the October 2015 Forbes piece “Can YouTube’s Susan Wojcicki Solve Tech’s Gender Gap?”
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The new Cato 2018 Paid Leave Survey of 1,700 adults finds that nearly three-fourths (74%) of Americans support a new federal government program to provide 12 weeks of paid leave to new parents or to people to deal with their own or a family member’s serious medical condition. A quarter (25%) oppose establishing a federal paid leave program. Support slips and consensus fractures for a federal paid leave program, however, after costs are considered.
The survey found 54% of Americans would be willing to pay $200 a year in higher taxes, a low-end estimate for a 12-week federal paid leave program. However, majorities of Americans would oppose establishing a federal paid leave program if it cost them $450 a year in higher taxes (52% opposed) or $1,200 a year in higher taxes (56% opposed), the mid-range and high-range cost estimates respectively.
These low-, mid-, and high-range cost estimates are based on the most high-profile federal paid leave program proposed to date: The Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act (FAMILY Act).
The survey also did not ask questions about what paid leave policies Americans would like to see offered at private companies. Instead, the Cato 2018 Paid Leave Survey focuses on what people think about establishing a government-provided paid family leave program at the federal level.
Paid parental leave provides workers with financial compensation during temporary absences following the birth or adoption of a child. Private companies often provide paid leave and the federal government mandates 12 weeks of job-protected unpaid leave, but recently policymakers and advocates have become dissatisfied with the status quo.
Proponents of federal intervention argue that the private market does not or cannot provide sufficient paid leave. Moreover, proponents believe government supported leave would improve labor market outcomes and reduce gender and labor-market inequality.
However, the evidence that suggests otherwise…
First, ample data show that the private market provides paid leave at rates about 30 to 50 percentage points higher than proponents claim. Private paid leave provision has grown three- or fourfold over 50 years and continues to grow. This trend indicates industry is responsive to employee demands.
Second,workers may not be better off under federal paid leave and may be worse off. Government intervention provides new incentives, and individuals are likely to adapt accordingly. Evidence suggests government supported leave may result in wage or benefit reductions, female unemployment, or reduced professional opportunities for women.
Government intervention is also unlikely to correct gender or labor-market inequality in ways proponents desire. For example, families may respond to the policy by increasing women’s household work contributions relative to men’s. Redistributive effects of government intervention are likely to harm workers.
Policymakers should not adopt paid parental leave policies. Instead, they should consider improving workers’ lives through reforms that increase economic efficiency, remove barriers to flexible work, and increase choice.
From the Archives: Maternity Leave vs Profit
(with Becky Hawkins)
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Transcript:
Panel 1
A woman in a collared shirt and black pants is talking to a businessman in a fancy suit.
WOMAN: Businesses oppose paid maternity leave because you put money above women’s health!
BUSINESSMAN: We care deeply about women! We’re against paid leave because it’s bad for women!
Panel 2
The businessman has pulled a mother, holding a crying newborn, into the panel.
WOMAN: Women need time off to recover after giving birth.
BUSINESSMAN: Nonsense! Just look at Tiana here… She can’t wait to get back to work. It’s patronizing of you to say otherwise!
TIANA: So tired….
Panel 3
BUSINESSMAN: Paid maternity leave makes hiring women more expensive – and that means companies will discriminate against hiring them! Have a heart!
Panel 4
The businessman violently shoves Tiana off-panel.
WOMAN: So we’ll give paid leave to new mothers AND new fathers!
BUSINESSMAN: But that would cost MONEY!
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