Maternal Leave in the U.S.: Far from Adequate

October 25, 2007

By Taryn Kloster, Government Relations Intern

"Very disappointing," is the assessment from Kim Gandy, president of the National Organization for Women, about the adequacy of the paid maternal/parental leave policies of the 2007 Working Mother magazine 100 Best Companies. Working Mother magazine evaluated the companies based on their policies on compensation, child care, flexibility, time off and leaves, and other family-friendly principles, using 2006 data.

"Though companies have made significant improvements in terms of workers' rights in the United States, they still have a long way to go before their policies meet families' needs," Gandy added. "Serious improvement in corporate family leave policies will require more than just encouragement from state and federal governments."

The Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) took Working Mother's list and went one step further, examining the parental leave policies of the top companies. Their report, "Maternity Leave in the United States – Paid Parental Leave Is Still Not Standard, Even Among the Best U.S. Employers," details their findings.

IWPR found 28 percent of the 100 Best Companies offer nine or more weeks of paid maternity leave. Goldman Sachs & Co. offers 16 weeks paid maternity leave, plus four weeks for new fathers and eight weeks for adoptive parents. Women with five years of experience at Johnson & Johnson are entitled to 26 paid weeks of maternity leave. But these companies are more the exception than the rule, even among top employers.

More than half (52 percent) of the best employers provide six weeks or less of paid maternity leave, according to IWPR, with nearly one-quarter (24 percent) providing four or fewer weeks. Even more discouraging is the fact that seven percent of the highest-ranking companies on the magazine's list offer no paid maternity leave at all, and another seven percent offer only one to two weeks.

IWPR notes that, according to the Department of Labor, family leave is almost absent in most U.S workplaces. They found that only eight percent of all workers have paid family leave to care for newborns and other family members. They also found that only five percent of the lowest income-earning workers have any paid family leave, making life more difficult for those families.

Paid parental leave policies in the U.S. are pitiful when compared to other countries. In the United Kingdom, for example, working mothers have the right to as many as 26 weeks of paid leave for each child. In France, mothers have a right to take up to 16 weeks of paid maternity leave for their first two children; the leave increases to 26 weeks for the third child.

Many other countries have maternal leave policies similar to those in Western Europe. In fact, earlier this year Harvard and McGill University researchers at the Project on Global Working Families identified U.S. workplace policies as weaker for families than those of all other high-income countries and worse than many middle- and low-income countries. The U.S. is one of only five countries out of the 173 surveyed that does not guarantee by law some form of paid maternity leave.

It is time for the U.S. government and leading companies to step up and work with women's advocates to change the status of maternal leave policies that negatively affect working mothers' lives and make family life more challenging. Though there are a few state-led initiatives to improve parental leave policies, more needs to be done to ensure that parents can be with their newborn babies at that crucial time in their lives and all workers can take time to care for family members when illness strikes.

One step Congress can take is expanding the Family and Medical Leave Act (H.R. 1369 and H.R. 2792, sponsored by Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y.). Congress should also adopt legislation that guarantees a minimum of paid sick days, as surveys have shown that most parents cannot afford to take family or medical leave without pay.

The Healthy Families Act (S. 910, Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass. and H.R. 1542, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn.) would guarantee up to seven days annual sick leave for employees at companies with 15 or more employees. Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) is sponsoring a bill (S.1681) that would guarantee eligible employees in a family and medical leave insurance program to receive a certain percentage of their earnings during eight weeks of leave.

On Oct. 16, presidential front-runner Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) announced her plan to extend the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to cover an additional 13 million workers. She would also guarantee seven days of sick leave for all workers, and the $1.75 billion cost would be paid for by closing a corporate tax shelter. Clinton also proposed a new $1 billion grant program that would allow individual states to adopt innovative paid family leave programs. Clinton also committed to work toward improved access to affordable child care for working parents, primarily through new public-private partnerships.

"Now applauds the efforts of legislators to strengthen our workforce by helping both women and men balance the needs and demands of work and family," said Gandy. "We can strengthen our country by supporting those who are striving to be both productive employees and good parents."