Annotated Bibliography: Maternity and Paternity Leave Maternity and Paternity leave are controversial benefits that only some working men and women across the world receive. Maternity and paternity leave are times when employees leave work to deliver or care for a newly born child. The length or payment of maternity and paternity leave depends on the country or even the company the employees works in. Most working people are completely for maternity and paternity leave, because it allows for families to adapt to and care for the new baby in their home. In general, people against maternity and paternity leave claim it is bad for businesses and the economy in general.
Controversies
Most people are for maternity and paternity leave, because
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"Extending Maternity Protection to All Women: Trends, Challenges and Opportunities." International Social Security Review 68.1 (2015): 69-93. Business Source Complete. Web. 2 Dec. 2016.
This article describes the trends of maternity leave across the world using graphs and other information. It also shows how these trends have affected women, the economy, and the work force in only positive ways. The article describes how maternity leave has improved some over the years, but still needs to be upgraded. The author includes her thoughts on how paid maternity leave is essential for the happiness and healthiness of women and children everywhere. This source is useful for comparing how maternity leave is across world and how it has affected the world.
Arnarson, Bjorn Thor, and Aparna Mitra. "The Paternity Leave Act in Iceland: Implications for Gender Equality in the Labour Market." Applied Economics Letters 17.7 (2010): 677-680. Business Source Complete. Web. 1 Dec. 2016.
This source is over Iceland’s act on maternity, paternity, and parental leave that was passed in 2000. It describes exactly what the act did and how it affected the country and its citizens as a whole. The article shows an exact example of how a longer and paid maternity and paternity affect gender inequality and the labor market in
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"Maternity Leave, Early Maternal Employment and Child Health and Development in the US." Economic Journal 115.501 (2005): F29-F47. Business Source Complete. Web. 1 Dec. 2016.
This article focuses on the effects maternity leave has on children’s health and development in the United States. This source has data collected from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth and also explores associations between women returning to work early and reductions in immunisations and breastfeeding as well as increases in bad behavior. This source shows how important a longer maternity leave is to children’s health and development.
Carneiro, Pedro, Katrine V. Løken, and Kjell G. Salvanes. "A Flying Start? Maternity Leave Benefits and Long-Run Outcomes of Children." Journal Of Political Economy 123.2 (2015): 365-412. Business Source Complete. Web. 1 Dec. 2016.
This source is contains the results on a study done in Norway that tested the effects of a change in their maternity leave policy. They found that when Norway offered four months of paid maternity leave and twelve months of unpaid maternity leave rather than their previous twelve weeks of unpaid maternity leave that it affected children in the long run in a positive way. This article had statistics and graphs showing their results. It is helpful, because not only is it a specific example of the benefits of maternity leave for the children, but also the
Ray et al. Parental Leave Policies in 2 Countries – Assessing Generosity and Gender Equality. Center for Economic and Policy Research.
If you and your significant other had a child, would you want to be there to not only support your partner, but to see your child’s first milestones in real life? Of course you would! The problem is most parents miss crucial parts of their child’s life because of the lack of paid maternity and paternity leave in the United States. New families, across the nation, should be allowed a minimum six months of paid maternity leave.
This policy allows working couples to choose how they balance their work and parenting commitment to their new baby. The first two weeks are reserved for the mother but the remaining fifty weeks can be shared between both parents (Glegg, Swinson, 2013).This will definitely give chance to fathers to bond with their infants on an equal footing with the mother. Sarkadi, et al (2007) also suggests that policies should be made that fathers of young children may choose to do part time jobs so they can have time with their
Trial and error tests have been exercised, including the extension of Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI), to examine how beneficial or detrimental it is to the economy. Some short term solutions and suggestions have also been pitched. Lovell and Helmuth claim that one policy that would reduce pressure on the early child care, thus cutting down on leave time, is to expand support for employees caring for their newborn at home. Providing paid parental leave for workers is projected to improve retention of young workers, preventing millions per year in costs associated with employee turnover. Having a policy that would reduce the costs to workers and society for carrying out basic life tasks would be the ideal and admired implementation.
Family leave has many benefits to children and the family. Rossin (2011) states, “[family] leave may affect the amount of time a child spends with his mother rather than in non-maternal care. [family] leave will also affect the quality of time the child spends with the mother, depending on changes to her stress level and her satisfaction with the trajectory of her career. The quantity and quality of time a mother spends with her child in his first year of life matter for the child's well-being”
Sorensen, J., & Abbott, E. (2004). The Maternity and Infancy Revolution. Maternal & Child Health Jounal, 8(3), 107-110. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=14089739&site=ehost-live
Figure 1, shows the top countries in the world for maternity leave, with all offering over 50 weeks, and Serbia and Denmark at 100% of salary. In other countries both the amount of time and percentage of salary differs, but as Amanda Peterson Beadle points out in her article for the ThinkProgress website, ‘Out of 178 nations, the U.S. is one of three that does not offer paid maternity leave benefits, let alone paid leave for fathers’. (6)
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was passed in 1993 and allows employees to take unpaid leave for up to 12 workweeks in any 12 month period because of any of the following reasons: the birth or adoption of a child, for the care of a family member with a serious health condition, or because the employee’s own serious health conditions makes the employee unable to perform the functions of her or her job. This paper will discuss the advantages and disadvantages to both the employer and the employee concerning this act. The current use of FMLA and management concerns over the FMLA will also be discussed.
With no pay and the risk of losing their jobs--if additional time is requested--parents return to work in as little as two weeks after the birth of a child. This results in the absence of one or both parents during the most crucial part of a child’s life—the first year of life. Ultimately, it is the children who will suffer. The events that take place in the early years of a child life, as well as the people that surround, will influence who they become. Children need love and guidance from their parents. Babies can learn so much, parents have the time to teach them and watch them grow. It is their duty as well as their rights as parents to enjoy the first moments of life with their children. Susan J. Douglas says, “The first five years of life are so crucial to cognitive and emotional development” (Douglas Par 8). Parents often send their babies to daycare at too young of an age because they are expected to return to work and have no other choice. Others quit their job because they do not want their babies to go to daycare. This creates a financial strain on families and has lasting effects on the newborn and other young children in the home. Sharon Lerner says, “Paid parental leave frees mothers and fathers from choosing between their careers and time with their infants” (Lerner 20). Paid family leave alleviates a great deal of stress for parents who are expecting. It makes starting a family less frightening because families have enough money and time to adjust with their new lives before returning to work. This makes workers less likely to call out of upon returning and more likely to be focused on the
The Family and Medical Act (FMLA) of 1993 was America’s initial plan of “enabling workers to balance . . . work and family” (Cohen 213). Yet, many workers across the nation are unable to attain these benefits simply because their leave is unpaid (Cohen 214). Since the passage of the act, very little progress has been made in the fight for paid parental leave, causing the United States to be developmentally behind the rest of the world (Talbot). The United States’ family leave policy is severely inadequate and outdated. In order for the nation to progress politically and socially, reforming the present legislation into a model of paid parental leave can lead the United States in the right direction of growth. The current policy for parental
America is the one and only developed country that does not offer any paid maternity leave. Maternity leave is a period of absence from work granted to a mother before and after the birth of her child. In America this means twelve weeks of unpaid absence that guarantees her job when she returns. We are so far behind everyone that out of all of the countries around the world seven out of 196 including America do not have mandatory paid maternity leave. (Colorado public radio news) That is a sad figure, to think that we place having a family so high but don’t give the mothers the protection and security they deserve.
Paid leave can cause employment discrimination: “Conversely, paid leave could lengthen the time a woman spends outside the workplace, interrupt her career, and thus potentially widen the gender gap in employment and wages. Extended time out of work may weaken women’s career progressions and human capital development [...] And as women workers go on maternity leave, there is a risk that some employers will invest less in training and development of women in this age group” (Adema, Willam et al. 28). This excerpt exemplifies the potential negative repercussions of a paid parental leave policy with job security. An interrupted career can harm a woman’s resume as she could leave work for years to raise children.
Women’s reproductive rights are a global issue in today’s world. Women have to fight to have the right to regulate their own bodies and reproductive choices, although in some countries their voices are ignored. Abortion, sterilization, contraceptives, and family planning services all encompass this global issue of women’s reproductive rights.
Livingston, Gretchen. "The Link between Parental Leave and the Gender Pay Gap." Pew Research Center RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2014.
Maternity leave is a time when a woman leaves before her pregnancy and can stay gone from a company anywhere from 4-6 weeks, after the birth of her baby. The promise of holding your job is guaranteed, but on this leave you collect no income. The issues widely debated is whether men should have the option whether to take maternity leave and if maternity leave should be paid. Bonding is crucial to early childhood development for both parents. Introducing a baby into a family’s life, can affect a family financially and physically, due to lack of time with your child.