US Woefully Trails Other Industrialized Nations; It's Not Mother Friendly
Mother's Day 2008 has passed and, unlike other industrialized nations, the US makes it difficult for mothers to raise their children.
As the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) shows: "This Mother's Day, we reflect on the critical but often overlooked issue of maternity leave. In a selection of 19 countries with comparable per capita income, the United States provides the fewest maternity leave benefits in both length of leave and paid time off (see chart). This is considered separate from any disability insurance for which one may qualify. In fact, the United States falls two weeks short of the International Labor Organization's basic minimum standard of at least 14 weeks general leave. It is also the only country not to guarantee some amount of leave with income.
"The United States passed the Family and Medical Leave Act in 1993, giving eligible parents 12 weeks unpaid leave to care for a new child. But aside from being unpaid, it is limited to workplaces of more than 50 employees, which excludes more than 41.3% of working Americans, or about 48.1 million people."
From AFL-CIO blog: "The United States doesn’t make it easy for mothers to raise their children. First off, if a mother works, she likely is going to get paid less than a man in the same job—about 77 cents for every $1 a man makes to be exact. And paid time off after a child is born is available in many western nations—but not here. In the United Kingdom, for example, a new mother can take a year off from work and be paid for about nine months. In Norway, she can take 26 weeks and about 20 weeks of that is paid.
"The new Democratic majority in the House is moving to address the nation’s need for paid family leave. Introduced in April, the Family Leave Insurance Act of 2008 (H.R. 5873) would provide paid leave to care for a new child and cover workplaces with fewer than 50 employees. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) introduced the Healthy Families Act (S. 910 and H.R. 1542) that would require employers with 15 or more employees to provide workers with seven paid sick leave days a year to take care of themselves or a family member."
If more real Democrats are elected in November making a definitive, strong majority, perhaps mother and family friendly laws like the above will become part of the workplace in the United States. It's only a beginning. The US, a so called superpower, has a long way to go in catching up with other nations when it comes to workplace rights and social justice.
As the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) shows: "This Mother's Day, we reflect on the critical but often overlooked issue of maternity leave. In a selection of 19 countries with comparable per capita income, the United States provides the fewest maternity leave benefits in both length of leave and paid time off (see chart). This is considered separate from any disability insurance for which one may qualify. In fact, the United States falls two weeks short of the International Labor Organization's basic minimum standard of at least 14 weeks general leave. It is also the only country not to guarantee some amount of leave with income.
"The United States passed the Family and Medical Leave Act in 1993, giving eligible parents 12 weeks unpaid leave to care for a new child. But aside from being unpaid, it is limited to workplaces of more than 50 employees, which excludes more than 41.3% of working Americans, or about 48.1 million people."
From AFL-CIO blog: "The United States doesn’t make it easy for mothers to raise their children. First off, if a mother works, she likely is going to get paid less than a man in the same job—about 77 cents for every $1 a man makes to be exact. And paid time off after a child is born is available in many western nations—but not here. In the United Kingdom, for example, a new mother can take a year off from work and be paid for about nine months. In Norway, she can take 26 weeks and about 20 weeks of that is paid.
"The new Democratic majority in the House is moving to address the nation’s need for paid family leave. Introduced in April, the Family Leave Insurance Act of 2008 (H.R. 5873) would provide paid leave to care for a new child and cover workplaces with fewer than 50 employees. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) introduced the Healthy Families Act (S. 910 and H.R. 1542) that would require employers with 15 or more employees to provide workers with seven paid sick leave days a year to take care of themselves or a family member."
If more real Democrats are elected in November making a definitive, strong majority, perhaps mother and family friendly laws like the above will become part of the workplace in the United States. It's only a beginning. The US, a so called superpower, has a long way to go in catching up with other nations when it comes to workplace rights and social justice.
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