Paid Parental Leave in America

At a company all-hands meeting last week, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal announced plans to take “a few weeks” of paid paternity leave for the birth of his second child, though it’ll reportedly be less than the full 20 weeks that Twitter provides.

The social media giant isn’t the only one to provide some sort of parental leave – though not every company does. The benefit isn’t federally mandated, but a proposal to extend four weeks of paid parental leave to all Americans was included in President Biden's proposed Build Back Better plan, which is pretty much dead in the water.

• Some Democrats have played with the idea of a standalone bill focused on paid parental leave, but it would have to garner the support of at least 10 Senate Republicans.

All that to say: The topic we’re tackling today is paid parental leave in America. What’s the right move?

🔢 By the numbers… As it currently sits, companies with 50+ employees are required under federal law to provide unpaid leave. This applies to 89% of workers.

• Among Fortune 500 companies – which typically offer the best benefits – 72% offer some sort of paid parental leave. 33% of those companies offer twice as much leave to mothers as to fathers.
• A handful of firms opt instead for the genderless ‘primary caregiver’ and ‘secondary caregiver’ to determine who gets more time off.
• On the whole, 23% of U.S. workers have access to paid family leave. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports eight in ten workers (79%) had access to paid sick leave – which is generally less time off – through their employer in 2021, but workers in certain occupations, part-time workers, and lower-wage workers are less likely to have access paid sick leave.

🌎 Zoom out: The US is the only developed nation without federally mandated paid parental leave – though nine states + DC have measures in place. The average paid maternity leave worldwide is 29 weeks, while the average paid paternity leave is 16 weeks.

🤔 Out-the-door poll… Do you think US employers should be federally required to offer workers paid parental leave?

Yes

No

Unsure/Other

📋 Broad public opinion: Nearly 6 in 10 Americans think US employers should be required to offer employees paid parental leave (59%), according to a recent YouGov poll.