Maternity Leave and Why the United States is the Only Developed Nation Without It

The United States and Papua New Guinea are the only two countries in the world that do not guarantee paid maternity leave. Despite the fact that the US ranks second in the world for highest GDP while Papua New Guinea falls at 139th, working women in both countries face the same fears, often having to choose between motherhood and a career.
When the US passed the Family and Medical Leave Act in 1993, it left many women feeling cornered. The act ensures 12 weeks of unpaid time off for full-time workers at companies with at least 50 employees-about 60 percent of the American workforce. Unfortunately, this leaves women who cannot afford the time off with no choice but to decline staying at home with their newborn, while others fear that requesting paid time off will compromise their job security.
President Obama signed a Presidential Memorandum in January 2015, advancing six weeks of paid parental leave to all federal employees. With the presidential election approaching, efforts towards catching up with the rest of the world in this category are garnering attention with the hope of influencing voters’ decisions. As they make their minds up, millennial women are looking to see how the candidates’ stance on the issue will impact their lives and their vote.
In this episode of Ovary Action, Broadly travels to Sweden-a nation that offers 480 days of paid leave-and Papua New Guinea to compare how their policies fare against our own. Host Tracie Morrissey explores the options for new mothers with contrasting incomes, along with the policies that could improve the grim state of unpaid maternity leave in the U.S.
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[@fundinkuta7082]

The more I learn about the States, the more I wonder how people consider it the greatest/best country in the world.

[@Lipampan]

To those who claim that they don't want to pay for someone else's maternity leave, you are living in a society and you can't isolate yourself from social responsibilities. As the matter of fact, you also pay for the benches on the parks that you may never sit on, a road you might never drive on and also you pay to support the life of prisoners who might be murderers.

[@BhikshuniLozangTrinlae]

pro-life...until the baby is born!

[@shamelleism]

Really? Even my sims have family leave.

[@tamaralaird3389]

Yea, I would happily pay more tax if that means a mother doesn't have to bury their child. My hole hearted sympathy to that mother who lost her son, Carl.

[@joyyu7753]

I might never be married or have a child, but I strongly support maternity leave. I want to know that mothers and fathers are getting the time they deserve to co parent their new borns, and that for mothers especially, they do not have to choose between family and work.

[@kaileyy2053]

"I don't think there is a country that does it better than the United States does" I can't even….

[@02alleyboo]

Australia here* my work offers 6 months full pay, or 1 year half pay, and also will help with childcare. It amazes me how backwards some

[@spacerobot66]

RAISING A FAMILY IS NOT A HOBBY!!!!!! That Heritage Foundation woman is delusional!

[@nettaleanne]

Did she throw raising a family into the same category as starting a hobby? 🙃🔫

[@SuperAdventureR1301]

You don't even need the "developed" in the title. Even fucking SOMALIA has maternity leave.

[@Katzblager]

Government: "Why we have low birth rates??"

[@sozamoza895]

Did she seriously say that if women get paid maternity leave, it'll reduce their chances of getting a job when they are in "child bearing age"?!?! What the hell is child bearing age? Like 16-45? Okay guys, just don't hire any woman between the ages of 16-45.

[@EricaYE6]

And guys wanna make women feel bad by calling them "gold diggers" for not wanting to live a hard life or struggle. Now you see why.

[@dustyrose5825]

When I stayed home for one day with my two year old because he was sick, I was fired immediately when I returned to my executive training program the next day. This is now illegal. Now I'm a lawyer and I work for myself. I give my employees generous benefits because it's the best way to keep them and avoid the expense of replacing them, hiring and training new employees and making the workplace easier to enjoy. They work harder, they work extra in a crunch, and we're like a family.

[@ninaannie696]

Three month leave is a joke. In Europe, Eastern block, which is not considered so good to live as i.e. Germany women get 1 year paid leave and if you're jobless you get benefits. It doesn't mean that women are lazy or don't work. We consider children our future. Each one of us were child before. All the best to all mothers and fathers. 🌸

[@itsyvonnekelly4151]

They don't even separate puppies from their mother's until 8 weeks. The U.S needs to reform maternity leave and childcare.

[@Lotusblume.8]

So glad I had my kids in Germany and not in the US. No support for mothers here.

[@jaynaya-tea512]

This is why I don't understand pro-life people who protest in front of abortion clinics because they put so much effort into shaming the woman instead of stopping the things that made her go there in the first place like abstinence-only sex-ed and unpaid family leave

[@helengarcillano276]

USA isn't the greatest country, it's not a land of the free, it was a huge eye opener especially when I started travelling to other countries.