Why Americans Should Get More Paid Maternity Leave Essay

Tags: health mother career goals raising children government parent walmart children family women debt race maternity leave

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document

Total Length: 816 words ( 3 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 0

Page 1 of 3

Maternity Leave: Why it Matters, Why We Need More

The United States lags behind its counterparts in the wealthy, developed world on many measures, not least of which is how it treats new moms. In the United States, only twelve percent of women have access to paid maternity leave of any length (Froese 1). The six weeks of paid maternity leave I receive from my company might be better than most Americans get, but it is still not at all enough and can lead to serious health problems for both mom and baby, as well as to more generalized societal ills. Research also reveals that current maternity leave programs in the United States reflect gross inequalities along the intersections between race, class, and gender, exacerbating income disparities (May 1). The United States should therefore adopt a more sensible, rights-based maternity leave policy, modeled after the successful programs already in place in other countries with robust economies.

Generous paid maternity leave policies benefit the entire society, not just mom and baby. As Ingraham points out, having children “is a necessary condition for our biological and economic survival,” and is therefore in the best interests of the government to foster economic growth through the support of new mothers and their children (1). Among the nations that provide long periods of paid maternity leave, all are wealthy including Finland, Norway, Canada, and Japan (England 1; Ingraham 1). A person does not need to be poor to realize that insufficient paid leave will lead to the incursion of debt, decreased employee morale, and a cascade of problems both psychological and social.

Stuck Writing Your "Why Americans Should Get More Paid Maternity Leave" Essay?

View All Our Example Why Americans Should Get More Paid Maternity Leave Essay

Have A Custom Example Essay Written

Raising children is exorbitantly expensive, as any new parent can attest, and those who need help during the critical first few years of the baby’s life receive the least amount of financial support from either the private or the public sector. Maternity leave is therefore beneficial for society in the way that it helps create a healthier, wealthier next generation of Americans.

Long maternity leave programs can be synchronized with the needs of companies to cost-effectively manage their human resources. For example, companies can offer new mothers the opportunity to work from home. Contract and temporary positions that fill the role of the new mother can easily be filled. Yet major American corporations, from Walmart to Starkbucks, have unjust and irrational policies that provide zero paid maternity leave days for….....

Show More ⇣

     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


Works Cited
England, Charlotte. “Paid Maternity Leave.” Independent, March 1, 2017, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/paid-maternity-leave-us-worst-countres-world-donald-trump-family-leave-plan-women-republican-social-a7606036.html
Froese, Monica. “Maternity Leave in the United States: Facts You Need to Know.” Oct 19, 2016, Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/pregnancy/united-states-maternity-leave-facts#1
Graham, Jennifer. Interview. July 17, 2018.
Ingraham, Christopher. “The world’s richest countries guarantee mothers more than a year of paid maternity leave. The U.S. guarantees them nothing.” The Washington Post, Feb 5, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/02/05/the-worlds-richest-countries-guarantee-mothers-more-than-a-year-of-paid-maternity-leave-the-u-s-guarantees-them-nothing/?utm_term=.ddb8d7083a30
May, Ashley. “Paid Family Leave is an Elite Benefit in the United States.” USA Today, May 17, 2017, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/05/17/paid-maternity-leave-elite-benefit-u-s/325075001/

sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Why Americans Should Get More Paid Maternity Leave" (2018, July 18) Retrieved April 26, 2024, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/why-americans-should-get-more-paid-maternity-leave-essay

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"Why Americans Should Get More Paid Maternity Leave" 18 July 2018. Web.26 April. 2024. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/why-americans-should-get-more-paid-maternity-leave-essay>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"Why Americans Should Get More Paid Maternity Leave", 18 July 2018, Accessed.26 April. 2024,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/why-americans-should-get-more-paid-maternity-leave-essay
   

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document
order custom essay example