Empower The Future
The State of Maternity Leave in The United States
Past, Present, Future
Maternity leave was always a highly debated topic in American history and politics. Because most people in history believed that a woman’s role was in the home and with children, they believed that the best way to reinforce this ideology was to impose as many obstacles to working women.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, the goal was to enforce marriage laws that restricted women from working after getting married. However, as the need for labor emerged in the industrial era, these laws waned away. The importance of maternity leave materialized immediately because of working mothers; in 1919, the International Congress of Working Women advocated for 12 weeks of paid maternity leave. The issue was widely ignored until post World War II, when the U.S. strengthened its anti-welfare policies. The war was over and women were no longer required to fill-in for men who had gone overseas. Additionally, the rise of the Cold War caused the U.S. to reject any form of socialism. Maternity leave was considered one such form of welfare socialism and was strongly opposed. Moreover, race played a key role as many white women did not want black women to receive maternity leave. In racist eyes, black women were not part of the “real workforce.”
Finally in 1978, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act was signed into effect and prohibited discrimination of pregnant women by employers. While this supported many women, it mostly only helped them during the time of pregnancy. The next major act moving towards paid maternity leave came in 1993 -- the Family and Medical Leave Act or FMLA. The FMLA guaranteed 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave. Although a victory for many, the law has many specific requirements for said leave, such as working for certain organizations and having worked for a certain amount of time.
The State of Maternity Leave
Maternity leave is the absence granted from an employer to a person before and after they give birth. In the United States, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides certain employees with up to twelve weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year. To receive this leave, employees must have worked at their employer's establishment for at least 12 months, the place of work must employ 50 or more people, and the employee must have worked 1,250 hours in the past 12 months. The large majority of studies on this topic agree that paid maternity leave is necessary for the preservation of maternal physical and mental health, the health and development of the child, and the growth of the economy.
Economic and racial disparities suggest that mandated 12 weeks of unpaid leave is inadequate and unjust. A UCSF study found that of employees who make less than $30,000 per year, 62% do not receive paid leave. The same study also found that among employees whose annual earnings exceed $75,000, only 26% do not receive paid leave. This disparity disproportionately affects minority women, women with less education, and unmarried women. Allyson Felix, Olympic Track Star, talks about maternity leave in an interview conducted by Today. In this interview, she states that before she and some fellow athletes spoke out about maternity leave there was no protection surrounding maternity leave. This lack of access to leave often caused athletes to lose sponsorships and other opportunities to stay with their newborns.
Maternity leave proves to be important for both the mother and the baby. A 2018 study by UCSF found that paid leave strongly correlates with positive mother-child interactions that lead to secure attachment, empathy, and academic success. Not only is maternity leave holistically important, but it also preserves maternal health; less than eight weeks of maternity leave has been strongly linked to poorer maternal health and increased depression. In an interview on The View, Meghan McCain states that after complications with a pregnancy she was physically unable to come back to work after six weeks. She discusses the privilege she had of having paid maternity leave and expresses her deep anger that women in the rest of America were not offered the same luxury.
Ensuring paid maternity leave doesn’t only make sense for health reasons; it also makes sense for the economy. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found that California’s paid leave program set an example by combating poverty by lowering the poverty risk of new mothers by 10.2% and increasing the household income of new mothers by 4.1%. Additionally, food insecurity was greatly reduced. Studies reveal a correlation between paid leave and job stability, wage stability, and a decreased use of public assistance programs. As well as working to provide easier access to maternity leave for those in poverty, California's paid leave also helped the flow of business. A 2018 study by CBPP on California’s paid leave program revealed that guaranteed paid leave had either a positive or neutral effect on productivity for 90% of California businesses. Moreover, paid leave had either positive or neutral effects on employee morale for 99% of California businesses.
Policy Rundown
in 1978, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act was signed into effect and prohibited discrimination of pregnant women by employers. While this legislation supported many women, it only helped them during the time of pregnancy. The next major act moving towards paid maternity leave came in 1993, with the Family and Medical Leave Act or FMLA. The FMLA guaranteed 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave. While FMLA remains a victory for many, recent studies show disparities in its guarantees. Today, nine U.S. states offer paid family and medical leave: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington, and the District of Columbia. Nevertheless, restrictions to leave still apply in these states. As studies continue to prove the importance of maternity leave, other studies reveal racial and economic disparities in regards to this leave.
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The large majority of studies on this topic agree that paid maternity leave is crucial for a variety of reasons: the preservation of maternal physical and mental health, the health and development of the child, and the growth of the economy. Moreover, economic disparities joined with racial disparities suggest that mandated 12 weeks of unpaid leave is inadequate and unjust. A UCSF study found that of employees who make less than $30,000 per year, 62% do not receive paid leave. The same study also found that among employees whose annual earnings exceed $75,000, only 26% do not receive paid leave. This disparity disproportionately affects minority women, women with less education, and unmarried women.
Maternity leave proves to be important for both the mother and the baby. A 2018 study found that paid leave strongly correlates with positive mother-child interactions that lead to secure attachment, empathy, and academic success. Not only is maternity leave holistically important, but it also preserves maternal health; less than eight weeks of maternity leave has been strongly linked to poorer health and increased depression.
Ensuring paid maternity leave does not only make sense for health reasons, but it also makes sense for the economy. California’s paid leave program proved successful in combating poverty by lowering the poverty risk of new mothers by 10.2% and increasing household income of new mothers by 4.1%. Additionally, food insecurity was greatly reduced. Studies reveal a correlation between paid leave and job stability, wage stability, and a decreased use of public assistance programs.
This overall economic gain is not at the cost of businesses. A 2018 study on California’s paid leave program revealed that guaranteed paid leave had either a positive or neutral effect on productivity for 90% of California businesses. Moreover, paid leave had either positive or neutral effects on employee morale for 99% of California businesses.
Economic and racial disparities suggest that mandated 12 weeks of unpaid leave is inadequate and unjust. A UCSF study found that of employees who make less than $30,000 per year, 62% do not receive paid leave. The same study also found that among employees whose annual earnings exceed $75,000, only 26% do not receive paid leave. This disparity disproportionately affects minority women, women with less education, and unmarried women. Allyson Felix, Olympic Track Star, talks about maternity leave in an interview conducted by Today. In this interview, she states that before she and some fellow athletes spoke out about maternity leave there was no protection surrounding maternity leave. This lack of access to leave often caused athletes to lose sponsorships and other opportunities to stay with their newborns.
Maternity leave proves to be important for both the mother and the baby. A 2018 study by UCSF found that paid leave strongly correlates with positive mother-child interactions that lead to secure attachment, empathy, and academic success. Not only is maternity leave holistically important, but it also preserves maternal health; less than eight weeks of maternity leave has been strongly linked to poorer maternal health and increased depression. In an interview on The View, Meghan McCain states that after complications with a pregnancy she was physically unable to come back to work after six weeks. She discusses the privilege she had of having paid maternity leave and expresses her deep anger that women in the rest of America were not offered the same luxury.
Ensuring paid maternity leave doesn’t only make sense for health reasons; it also makes sense for the economy. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found that California’s paid leave program set an example by combating poverty by lowering the poverty risk of new mothers by 10.2% and increasing the household income of new mothers by 4.1%. Additionally, food insecurity was greatly reduced. Studies reveal a correlation between paid leave and job stability, wage stability, and a decreased use of public assistance programs. As well as working to provide easier access to maternity leave for those in poverty, California's paid leave also helped the flow of business. A 2018 study by CBPP on California’s paid leave program revealed that guaranteed paid leave had either a positive or neutral effect on productivity for 90% of California businesses. Moreover, paid leave had either positive or neutral effects on employee morale for 99% of California businesses.
Various studies strongly agree that maternity leave is essential in economic growth, parental health, and the development of the child.
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What Can Be Done?
⮕ Congress should consider adopting the Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (PFML) on the federal level, ensuring consistent protection for all parents and newborns
⮕ While working towards federal PFML, legislators should consider
⇨ Offering incentives to companies that provide paid family and medical leave, such as tax write-offs.
⇨ Address individual shortfalls of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, such as the specific requirements in order to receive leave and the fact that the act does not garuntee accommodations for medical complications