What the United States Can Learn From Other Nations on Paid Leave Policy
Oct 13, 2021, 1:00 PM, Posted by Brigid Schulte, Jennifer Ng'andu
Policies like paid leave are working to advance gender equity at work and at home in other nations. We just need to expand them here in the United States.
"We are one of the only countries in the world that doesn't offer paid family and medical leave to those who need it." —Robert Espinoza, Vice President of the Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute
A study by Better Life Lab and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation reconfirms that the U.S. status quo of gender roles, both at work and home, is not working for many families. Men are missing out on caretaking roles that enrich their lives and enhance the bonds with loved ones, while women are struggling with role overload, feeling unsupported and missing out on income and economic mobility.
In contrast to the U.S., many nations are advancing gender equity through solutions that benefit health, child development, family well-being, and advance racial equity, like paid leave. The United States can learn from the experiences of other nations that are implementing paid leave policies and find approaches that encourage fathers to take advantage of these policies.
