The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 allows employed citizens of the United States the right to maternity leave, however, rights pertaining to paternity leave still fall far behind standards set in other countries. Paternity leave should include each and every parent, and not be limited by gender or sexual orientation and therefore, government officials must reform outdated policies. If policy makers were aware of the benefits of equal parental leave, they would adapt to meet the demands of our developing society. This new model would better support economic strides, promote new gender roles, an inclusive family structure and create a thriving business culture.
Men and women no longer have set societal roles and therefore, subjective paternity
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(Fewer than half the countries in the world provide men with access to paid leave to care for a new child, while virtually all provide paid maternity leave.2 ) But innovative new efforts to boost fathers’ use of parental leave are accelerating a cultural change and breaking down gender stereotypes about work and …show more content…
Paternity leave – and especially longer leaves of several weeks or months – can promote parent-child bonding, improve outcomes for children, and even increase gender equity at home and at the workplace.
Therefore, paid parental leave for fathers, as well as for mothers, provides a real advantage to working families as shown currently in forty-one other countries. Some argue that the negative effects of paternity leave greatly outweigh the benefits, however, their claims only consider possible “unjustifiable setbacks in a man’s career”, but these arguments are based on outdated stereotypes which don’t recognize a man’s responsibility to care for his family as well as support them financially. Their argument also disregards the fact that “In almost half of the two-parent households, both parents now work full-time, and in 40% of all families with children, the mother is the sole or primary breadwinner. At the same time, fathers – virtually all of whom are in the labor force – are taking on more childcare responsibilities, as fatherhood has grown to encompass far more than just bringing home the bacon.” according to Gretchen Livingston, a data analyst, and journalist for Pew Research