Women in the labor force Essay

Women in the labor force is projected to grow to 77.2 million in 2020, up from 66.3 million in 2000 and 71.9 in 2010 (Toossi, 2012). This growth is largely due to the involvement of mothers with infants in the work force over the past few decades (Dagher, McGovern, & Dowd, 2014). Even though FMLA federally provides job protection after child birth, it affords only twelve weeks of leave (Dagher et al., 2014). From 2005 to 2007, Laughlin (2011) reports 58.6 percent of first time mothers went back to work within three months. From 20062010, 66 percent of women worked during their last pregnancy and 69.7 percent of these women reported taking maternity leave (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration, 2013). Interestingly, the original draft of FMLA allotted eighteen weeks for paternal leave but a mothers recovery from child birth was not considered in the final bill (Dagher et al., 2014).

The United States is one of a small number of countries that does not mandate maternity leave time be paid (Dagher et al., 2014). The United States still has not signed The 1981 UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) that obligates paid maternity leave even though 185 countries have (Sundbye & Hegewisch, 2011). In fact, according to Mahon and Brennan (2012) the United States is the only industrialized country to not offer paid maternity leave (as cited in Dagher et al., 2014). Germany and Sweden offer 47 weeks paid leave, Spain offers 18 weeks, France gives 22 weeks and Canada allows 28 weeks (Ray, Gornick, & Schmitt, 2009). The refusal to mandate paid maternity leave is reflected the 42 percent of pregnant American workers that received unpaid leave from 20062008 (Laughlin, 2011). As the number of women in the labor force grows, the use and perhaps analysis of maternity leave in the United States will likely intensify.

The evolution of paternity leave is among us in the United States. In 2012, there were 2 million stay at home fathers in the United States (U.S. Department of Labor, n.d.). However, paternity leave lags behind maternity leave in the United States. Data shows nine out of ten fathers in the United States take some form of paternity leave but it is usually ten days or less (U.S. Department of Labor, n.d.). Paternity leave mirrors maternity leave in the United States in that it is usually unpaid. A report by Klerman, Daley, and Pozniak (2014) found only 9 percent of employers offered paid paternity leave. In comparison, the United Kingdom offers up to twenty six weeks of paid paternity leave if a child was due or placed for adoption before April 5, 2015 (Gov.UK, 2015).

California has pioneered the way for maternity and paternity leave in the United States. Under the Paid Family Leave (PFL) Program, California offers six weeks of partial pay during any twelvemonth period that can be taken continuously or intermittently (Appelbaum & Milkman, 2011).