82% of Americans want paid maternity leave鈥攎aking it as popular as chocolate
The United States is the only wealthy nation that doesn't guarantee paid leave to mothers after they give birth or adopt a child. The vast majority of Americans would like to see that change.
According to a , 82% of Americans think employees should be able to take paid maternity leave, including for adoption. That level of support makes this benefit about as . In fact, more Americans want to see paid parental leave in place than would like the government to refrain from cutting their .
President Joe Biden's proposed , which requires congressional approval, would eventually make it possible for all workers to take up to 12 weeks of paid family leave totaling as much as $4,000 per month. This leave would be for mothers and fathers alike, as well as caring for yourself or another loved one.
As , we have been struck by the persistence of Americans' positive attitudes toward this benefit.
In our about attitudes among U.S. adults regarding paid leave based on data from 2012, 82% of Americans supported parents receiving paid leave鈥攁 proportion that's identical to the recent YouGov poll.
Repeatedly, since then, that of Americans support paid maternity leave.
In an era of extreme political polarization, it is astounding that so many Americans can agree on anything. Strong support is even apparent across the political spectrum: back the policy.
and Washington, D.C. have their own paid family leave programs, and got paid leave in 2020. But only can take paid parental leave. The lack of a federal paid leave policy that covers all employees results in the current patchwork of different policies that are difficult to understand and generally not available to most families.
Our research suggests that one reason why paid leave policies have not been more widespread in the U.S. is that Americans are hesitant to support government programs that may require tax hikes. For instance, slightly fewer than half of Americans endorsed using some government funding for paid leave in 2012. Yet, that this resistance has been fading, and of these policies as well.
Support for paid leave for fathers used to be relatively low. About 50% of Americans, for example, endorsed paid leave for fathers in the 2012 survey data we reviewed. With gaining popularity since then, support for has been rising. Sixty-eight percent of those surveyed by YouGov in early 2021 backed paid leave for moms and dads alike.
Years of research underscores the benefits of paid for women and their families. Our research has demonstrated that when fathers take paternity leave, they tend to develop and , become and .
Given that Americans have wanted paid leave for a long time and its benefits are increasingly clear, we believe that a national paid leave policy that covers all parents is an important step to improving the quality of life in America.
Provided by The Conversation
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