scholarly journals Paid Maternal Leave is Associated with Infant Brain Function at 3-Months of Age

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalie Hiromi Brito ◽  
Denise Werchan ◽  
Annie Brandes-Aitken ◽  
Hirokazu Yoshikawa ◽  
Ashley Greaves ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Brain Function ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Maternal Mental Health ◽  
The United States ◽  
Family Characteristics ◽  
Family Leave ◽  
Postnatal Life ◽  
Paid Leave ◽  
Paid Family Leave ◽  
Infant Brain

The first few months of postnatal life are critical for establishing key neural connections that support the development of subsequent social, cognitive, and linguistic skills. Yet, the United States lacks a national policy of paid family leave during this important period of early brain development, despite previous research demonstrating links between paid leave and improved maternal mental health, lower rates of infant mortality, and increases in cognitive skills during toddlerhood. The current study examined associations between paid maternal leave and infant brain function at 3-months of age using electroencephalography (EEG). Even after controlling for influential infant and family characteristics, results indicate that compared to unpaid leave, experiences of paid leave were related to distinct EEG profiles, possibly reflecting more mature patterns of brain activity. Findings from this study support past work demonstrating the benefits of paid leave on infant cognitive development and extend this work into early neural functioning. Together with past research, this work suggests that policy interventions mandating paid family leave may lead to reductions in sociodemographic health disparities and set the stage for healthy neurocognitive development.

scholarly journals The Experience of Working Family Caregivers: Implications for a National Paid Leave Policy

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 721-721
Author(s):  
Tiffany Washington ◽  
Lynn Friss Feinberg
Keyword(s):  
Family Caregivers ◽  
State Level ◽  
The United States ◽  
Advisory Council ◽  
Family Leave ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Grandparents Raising Grandchildren ◽  
Paid Leave ◽  
Paid Family Leave ◽  
Leave Policy

Abstract Family caregivers provide the bulk of unpaid care to older adults. The typical family caregiver is a 49-year-old woman who works full time and simultaneously provides an average of 24 hours of care per week for an older relative. Unfortunately, their caregiving duties places them at risk for lost wages and termination due to frequent interruptions at work, especially in the absence of a national paid family leave policy. It is possible that such a policy could mitigate these risks; however, the United States is the only developed nation that lacks a national paid family leave policy for all workers. This symposium will highlight the psychosocial, economic, and health issues experienced by working caregivers, and conclude by linking presenters’ findings to implications for a national paid leave policy. To start, presenter one will describe findings from a scoping review on workplace experiences of female family caregivers. Next, presenter two will describe findings from a systematic review to explore predictors of the adoption and implementation of state-level paid family leave policies. Presenter three’s study examines interest in supportive services among working and non-working Black caregivers in the Deep South. Presenter four will describe factors associated with healthcare utilization of working caregivers using data from the Regional Healthcare Partnership – Region 17 Health Assessment Survey. The final presenter, HHS Advisory Council to Support Grandparents Raising Grandchildren co-chair, will describe development of policy initiatives to identify, coordinate, and promote information, resources, and best practices for working grandparents raising grandchildren.

scholarly journals Paid family leave on local television news in the United States: Setting the agenda for policy reform.

2021 ◽  
pp. 100821
Author(s):  
Margaret Tait ◽  
Colleen Bogucki ◽  
Laura Baum ◽  
Erika Franklin Fowler ◽  
Jeff Niederdeppe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Policy Reform ◽  
Television News ◽  
The United States ◽  
Family Leave ◽  
Local Television ◽  
Paid Family Leave ◽  
Local Television News

scholarly journals Paid Leave Pays Off: The Effects of Paid Family Leave on Firm Performance

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Bennett ◽  
Isil Erel ◽  
Léa Stern ◽  
Zexi Wang
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Family Leave ◽  
Paid Leave ◽  
Paid Family Leave

scholarly journals Paid Leave Pays Off: The Effects of Paid Family Leave on Firm Performance

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Bennett ◽  
Isil Erel ◽  
Lea Henny Stern ◽  
Zexi Wang
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Family Leave ◽  
Paid Leave ◽  
Paid Family Leave

scholarly journals Paid Family Leave to Strengthen the STEM Workforce

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (02) ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Alex Hsain ◽  
Ryan Tam ◽  
Ishita Kamboj ◽  
Hanna Berman ◽  
Ryan Dudek
Keyword(s):  
Parental Leave ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Women In Science ◽  
Family Leave ◽  
Stem Leave ◽  
Paid Family Leave ◽  
The Family ◽  
Paid Parental Leave ◽  
And Mathematics

In the United States many women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) leave their careers after becoming a parent. Attrition is simultaneously occurring with workforce shortages in STEM with two million jobs potentially unfilled by 2025. While there has been an increase in STEM recruitment of women over recent decades, policies aimed at decreasing departure of women in STEM have not been prioritized. The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) guarantees workers up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave, but has not shown to increase workforce attachment of new mothers. Instead, studies suggest that short durations of paid leave (6-12 weeks) increase workforce attachment. Medical consensus suggests that a leave of 26 weeks is necessary for maternal health and a leave of 40 weeks is optimal for infant well-being. Coupled with recently introduced paid parental leave legislation in Congress, we recommend timely action to decrease the departure of women from the workforce and to strengthen gender equality in STEM. We recommend instituting 12 weeks of federal paid family leave (PFL) under the recently introduced national family leave insurance program in the Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act (FAMILY Act; S. 463/H.R. 1185).

scholarly journals Support for Paid Family Leave among Small Employers Increases during the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 237802312110619
Author(s):  
Ann P. Bartel ◽  
Maya Rossin-Slater ◽  
Christopher J. Ruhm ◽  
Meredith Slopen ◽  
Jane Waldfogel
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
New York ◽  
The United States ◽  
Family Leave ◽  
Limited Data ◽  
Federal Level ◽  
Paid Family Leave ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Small Employers ◽  
High Support

The United States is one of the few countries that does not guarantee paid family leave (PFL) to workers. Proposals for PFL legislation are often met with opposition from employer organizations, which fear disruptions to business, especially among small employers. But there are limited data on employers’ views. The authors surveyed firms with 10 to 99 employees in New York and New Jersey on their attitudes toward PFL programs before and during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. There was high support for state PFL programs in 2019 that rose substantially over the course of the pandemic: by the fall of 2020, almost 70 percent of firms were supportive. Increases in support were larger among firms that had employees using PFL, suggesting that experience with PFL led to employers becoming more supportive. Thus, concerns about negative impacts on small employers should not impede efforts to expand PFL at the state or federal level.

Class Disparities, Market Fundamentalism, and Work–Family Policy

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth Milkman
Keyword(s):  
Private Sector ◽  
Family Support ◽  
Time Use ◽  
Family Policy ◽  
The State ◽  
Family Leave ◽  
Paid Leave ◽  
Class Differences ◽  
Paid Family Leave ◽  
Work Family

This chapter examines class disparities in existing access to work–family support in the context of market fundamentalism. It begins with a discussion of class disparities in time use and access to employer-provided benefits that facilitate work–family reconciliation, along with an overview of market fundamentalism and business objections to work–family policy. It then analyzes California's 2002 law that created a paid family leave program covering all private-sector employees in the state. It shows that advocates for paid leave built a broad coalition in support of the law and prevailed despite organized business' strong opposition to the measure. However, the longstanding class disparities in access to paid family leave were only partially alleviated. The chapter also highlights the importance of class differences among women in relation to paid family leave.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document