Skip to main content

Paid Family Leave

Michelle Obama: "It doesn't have to be this way"

April 2, 2010
"Many folks don't have access to any kind of family leave policies whatsoever, no flexible working arrangements, many people don't even have a paid sick day. So they are struggling…scrambling to make things work…As we all know, here today, it just doesn't have to be that way. It doesn't have to be...

Unpaid parental leave - How are US families faring?

March 30, 2010
Parental leave with pay when a child is born or adopted is an important support for working families, yet most US private sector workers do not have this benefit. Human Rights Watch ( www.hrw.org ), a nongovernmental human rights group, is interviewing parents in the US about their experiences with...
Janet Walsh's picture

EU: Don't Force Women to Stay Home!

March 12, 2010
The European Union Commission has proposed a new directive, to be voted on in March, that would make maternity leave compulsory for the first six weeks after a woman gives birth. You read that correctly -- compulsory. As in, women would be forced to stay home, regardless of their own wishes, if...

Bring on the radical homemakers

March 12, 2010
...At some point, of course, I realized I wasn’t happy. I was trapped. I had money, but not time. It was like being surrounded by food, and dying of thirst. It turns out that there is a way out of this mess. There are people all over this country–both women and men–who have made a conscious decision to value their time more than their money. Against the formidable current of popular culture, they have decided that this may be the only life they will ever have, and they’re going to live it fully.
Katrina Alcorn's picture

Paid Family Leave Insurance in Oregon

March 12, 2010
About the Campaign: We're thrilled to be working on Paid Family Leave with MomsRising members and our partners in Oregon. On April 8, 2009, we had an awesome kick off at the Capitol to introduce the Paid Family Leave bill. The event included a press conference featuring Sandwich Mom (a mom in wacky...
Katie Bethell's picture

Calling All Humans: Who Pays for us to Propagate?

March 1, 2010
Women now comprise about half the US workforce, according to a major story in the December 30 issue of the Economist . In other words, half our workforce bears all our children. Anyone who wants a child of one's own must recognize that somewhere, a woman will bear that child and will likely nurse...
Melissa Bartick's picture

FMLA: After 17 Years, It’s Time to Take the Next Step

February 24, 2010
The Family and Medical Leave Act turns 17 today. At the National Partnership, we are like proud parents. We remember the long fight to pass it, and the moment on February 5, 1993 when we stood beside President Clinton as he made it the very first bill he signed. For the first time, we had a...

When will we dictate policy to protect our future generations?

February 18, 2010
Why are other countries recognizing the need for a paid stay-at home option, yet we are not? When will we dictate policy to protect our future generations? Our country's leaders seem to be primarily concerned with the here and now, instead of maintaining a balance that satisfies the present and the...

Time to Stop Free-Riding on Families

February 10, 2010
For generations, our country has been free-riding on families. Our economy is built on the invisible and free labor of millions--many of them women--who provide essential care to their families, whether it is the education and socialization of the next generation of workers or the comfort and care...
Phoebe Taubman's picture

Compensation for Parents

February 7, 2010
Most parents are overwhelmed when first entering into parenthood. This can cause emotional frustration and financial worry. To relieve this emotional burden, all parents should receive paid maternity and paternity leave for the first two years of their children’s lives . By providing this...

Pages