America Is One of Two Countries across the Globe To Not Offer Paid Leave for Birthing Parents

Newly-Released Data Show the U.S. Shares Policy Gap with Papua New Guinea and Five Pacific Island States

Washington – Today Family Values @ Work, in collaboration with the WORLD Policy Analysis Center at UCLA, released new research findings that underscore America’s lack of progress toward providing paid family and medical leave for all U.S. workers. 

A key finding is that the United States lacks a federal policy to provide guaranteed paid leave for workers who are expecting or who have given birth. Across the globe, approximately 83% of countries guarantee at least 12 weeks of paid leave to parents who give birth.

“It is shocking and sad to know that in America — a country considered to be a world leader  — such a special time is inhibited by structural inequities and is therefore out of reach for many U.S. workers. 

“All people need guaranteed job security and income when they have to miss work due to illness or to care for a loved one.  These data should be a cause for alarm for policymakers and health officials. It is imperative that all workers have equitable access to paid leave benefits, certainly birthing parents. The impact of not having such a policy exacerbates the inequities of paid leave and is, literally, leading to the death of pregnant people,” said Josephine Kalipeni, executive director, Family Values @ Work. 

According to the WORLD Policy Institute, paid leave for birthing parents is important because it allows parents to address health needs during pregnancy, recover after birth, and to establish feeding routines or bonding, while having the comfort of knowing their job or income will not be in jeopardy.

While some U.S. states that have paid leave policies have improved those policies, some still do not fully support health, according to the new findings. For example, in two states, parents who give birth only have access to up to 6 to 8 weeks of paid leave, which pales in comparison to global standards. 

The data also show that only households that have robust savings can afford to take unpaid leave for more than a few days. This point aligns with another data point showing that the median net worth of white households is 7 times that of Black and African American households and 5 times that of Latinx households. Further, two-thirds of working parents— who are disproportionately Black and Latinx—are either ineligible for or cannot afford to take unpaid leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The FMLA guidelines exclude more than half of U.S. workers.

“Some of the findings are a reinforcement of what we’ve known — and what fuels our fight for all workers to have paid medical and family leave — which is that the system for who can access paid leave is flawed and inherently inequitable and is part of labor’s unstable foundation that allows racial discrimination to flourish and manifest in the form of a massive racial wealth gap.

“However, the data tell a very clear story, and that is that not having a paid leave policy in place is an access issue, a race issue, and a gender issue all in one.  We have to rewrite that story,” Kalipeni said. 

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Family Values @ Work is a movement network of grassroots organizers and coalitions in more than two dozen states working to win paid family and medical leave, earned sick and safe days, and affordable, high-quality childcare at the state and national levels. Our work is anchored in a need to win economic justice for all, especially at the intersections of race, gender, and class.