The other day, I was watching segments from Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. One of the most recent ones is on paid family leave. Like many of the segments, I knew a bit of the subject matter before watching, but Oliver puts topics in such stark terms, my understanding of the situation is clarified. In this case, I knew the state of paid family leave in the US is dismal but, wow.
Often working moms are criticized for not spending enough time with their kids. As the child of a working mother, this is nonsense. There are probably some moms who don't or can't balance time well and my mom made us her priority. But, some working moms can't spend as much time with their kids, because, sometimes, the choice is financial. When choosing between spending time with your kid and earning money so that kid can eat, be clothed, and have a home, there is no choice. Just a terrible situation.
The situation is even worse for new moms. The only two countries in the world that do not guarantee paid time off for new mothers are the United States and Papua New Guinea. That's it. Just the two. In the whole world. Yes, some offer more than others. Yes, I'm sure there are other considerations. But there is at least some legal provision guaranteeing paid maternity leave.
The only federal provision in the US is the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. According to the Department of Labor fact sheet:
The FMLA entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had not taken leave. Eligible employees are entitled to:
Twelve workweeks of leave in a 12-month period for:
the birth of a child and to care for the newborn child within one year of birth...
There are other state-level laws, but all the laws combine don't cover 40% of the women in the workforce. Temporary employees or contractors and part-time employees who qualify for insurance don't receive any guarantees. The women most impacted by this situation are minority women who are already socially and economically disadvantaged.
For as much as people profess to love mothers, they sure don't act like it, especially legislators. And this isn't like the issue of maternity/paternity/family leave in the US is new. This is a continuing failure. But, apparently, this is a "do as I say and not as I do" situation. We should love our mothers, and all mothers, but not actually do anything to show that we care for them or want them to thrive.
I think what is truly disappointing about this is that the lack of guaranteed family leave in the US is not even surprising to me. As I have become increasingly aware, women are still second-class citizens in this country. So, abhorrent treatment of women across the board is unsurprising. "Land of opportunity" they tell us. Without telling us about the terms and conditions: if you are anything less than a straight white male, you might as well be Sisyphus.
Sources:
http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/11/john-oliver-mothers_n_7254924.html
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