Economic Dilemma of Parents

Somehow, we and every American parent were expected to be back to normal in under three months. Without income?

I remember thinking to myself.

If the practical reality of pregnancy is another mouth to feed in your home and America is a country where most people are living paycheck to paycheck.

how does 12 weeks upaid leave econimically work?

The truth is, for too many people, it doesn't.

One in four American women go back to work two weeks after giving birth becasue they can not afford to take off any more time than that.

That is 25 per cent of American women.

Eqaully disturbing,women who can afford to take a full 12 weeks often don't becasue it will mean incurring a motherhood penalty.

meaning they will be perceived as less dedicated to their job and will be passed overy for promitions and other career advancement.

In my own household, my mother had to choose between a career and raising three children-a choice that left her unpaid and underappreciated as a homemaker-becasue there just wasn't  support for both paths.

The memory of being in the city with my Dad is a particularly meaningful one since he was the sole breadwinner in our house. and my brothers' and my time with him was always limited by how much he had to work. 

And we were an incredibly privilieged family-our hardships were the stuff of other family's dreams.The deeper into the issue of paid parental leave I go, the clearer I see the connection between persisting barries to women's full eaulity and empowerment, and the need to redefine and in some cases, destingmatize men's roles as caregivers.

Thank you.

In other words, in order to liberate women, we need to liberate men.

the assumption and common practice that women and girls look after the home and the family is a stubborn and very real stereotype.

that not only discriminates against women, but limits men's participation and connection within the family and society.

These limitations ahve broad-ranging and significant effects, for them and for the children. We know this.

So why do we continue to undervalue fathers and overburden mothers?

Paid parental leave is not about taking days off work.

it's about creating the freedom to define roles, to choose how to invest time, and to establish new,positive cycles of behavior.

Companies that have offered paid parental leave for empolyees have reported improved employee retention, reduced absenteeism and training costs, and boosted productivity and morale.Far from not being able to afford to have the paid parental leave, it seems we can not afford not to.

In fact, a study in Swenden showed that for every month fathers took paternity leave, the mothers' income increased by 6.7 per cent.

That's 6.7 per cent more economic freedom for the whole family.