How The U.S.’s Zero Weeks Of Paid Family Leave Compares To The Rest Of The World

[cal04]

We updated the our most popular graphic of all time:
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2014/07/30/3465922/paid-family-leave/

In the United States, new parents aren’t guaranteed any paid time off. Instead, if they have worked for a certain amount of time at a company with 50 or more employees, they are guaranteed the ability to take 12 unpaid weeks off for the arrival of a new child.

That leaves us in lonely company. Out of 185 countries, the United States is one of just three that doesn’t guarantee paid maternity leave, the others being Oman and Papua New Guinea. Over half of the countries that provide leave give at least 14 weeks off. Here’s how that stacks up to other countries around the globe:



Fathers are similarly not guaranteed paid time off for a new child in the United States, but 70 countries also offer paid paternity leave. Here’s how the U.S. compares to a sampling of them:

[Swede Atlanta]

1. So much for "family" values.....

The conservatives in this country, including those that manage our businesses, don't care about families, children or anything other than profit.

If you are "pro life" you are for policies that support and sustain life beyond birth and even beyond just forcing the fetus to come to term. You also support pre-natal care for the mother and child, adequate and appropriate nutrition, a safe environment, etc. up to birth. You also support appropriate delivery care services and beyond that all the things that it takes to get a newborn to adulthood and ready for productive life. Then you care about them getting a good paying job, having benefits, time to spend with their families, a safe work environment, a secure retirement, etc.

When a newborn is born we don't believe they have any need to spend time with their parents. Off to the daycare which costs families a significant amount of disposable income or makes it impossible for a mother to work.

Why don't we follow the other civilized countries in the world that provide, based on a certain minimum size of the company, guaranteed paid maternity leave? Wait, wait, I hear Sarah Palin chiming in...."oh that will just encourage black and latino and you know, those "non Americans" to get pregnant".

What about, as in Sweden, having the total parental leave time be conditioned based on the willingness of the father to take some paternity leave? It is important the child bonds with the father as well as the mother. These are meaningful incentives.

But not in this country. We cannot have any lovey-dovey stuff going on. We are here to make money and MONEY RULES.

We are not a country that is "pro life" or "pro family". The pro life movement just wants to get the fetus out of the woman. After that they do everything they can to harm the mother and the child with their policies.

As for pro family, our policies regarding family leave, support for families in terms of child care, etc. are embarrassing compared to other countries around the world.

I think the difference is we want to make the 1% richer and so we enslave ourselves to them. Other countries want to reward the risk takers and business owners but realize that without "us" as employees and consumers they are nothing. There is a cost to them for their profits and that is being supportive of people.

[johnnyreb]

2. 'Cawz we love Freedom.

[bigwillq]

3. It's so sad how we treat our own in this country (nt)

[hfojvt]

4. as a single guy I am fine with that

I should want some policy to give my married co-workers a bunch of paid time off that I don't get? Isn't the mother already taking some sick leave? (I mean, she's in the hospital for a while).

I can get how parents want some freebies, but how is that fair?