Around the World: Parental Leave Laws

As part of our ongoing Around the World series, today’s post will explore parental leave laws in several different countries. The birth of a baby is a challenging and extraordinary time for parents. Parents need time to bond with their newborns and new mothers need time for their bodies to recover from the birth. Parental leave laws support new parents in 2 major ways: by providing job-protected leave to care for their infants and financial support during that leave. Unfortunately, not all countries provide paid, job-protected leave. This makes it difficult for parents, who rely on their salary to survive (which is the majority of us!), to be able to stay home during the early postpartum period. However, times are changing; many countries have combined their paternity- and maternity-leave laws into the more general parental leave to allow either one or both parents time at home with their newborns. Most countries provide between 12 weeks and 1 year of paid leave. Let’s look at some examples from around the world.

Maternity Leave Practices: The Numbers

One hundred and seventy eight countries guarantee some paid maternity leave under national law and 101 countries require 14 weeks or more of paid leave for new mothers. The average time new mothers worldwide can take off with pay after giving birth is 18 weeks. Three countries do not have a nationwide laws guaranteeing new mothers any paid time off following the birth of a child—Papua New Guinea, Swaziland and the United States. (Human Rights Watch, 2011)

Now for some specifics by country: the following table provides maternity leave information for countries that represent the majority of our readership. Next to each country we report the number of weeks of maternity leave mothers can qualify for and the % income that the mother receives during that time.

Source: Maternity at Work, ILO, 2010

The United States

As noted above, the United States is one of only 3 countries not offering paid leave at the national level. Some families in the US qualify for job-protected, unpaid leave through the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), a program that sets minimum standards for parental leave in the United States. However, about 40% of U.S. workers are not eligible for FMLA because employees of small companies (fewer than 50employees) and short-term workers (must be with current employer at least 1 year and must have met a requirement for minimum hours worked) are not included. (Ray 2008) Only about 11% of American employees have the option of taking paid medical leave with only 2 states, California and New Jersey, offering paid leave.

In California, income replacement is available to workers that pay into State Disability Insurance (SDI) through the SDI program and the Paid Family Leave Act (PFLA). There are no additional requirements such as number of hours worked for an employer or size of company. However, those that are self-employed or earn less than $300 per year do not qualify to receive SDI. For more about who qualifies, visit the following website: http://www.las-elc.org/help-leaves.html

In New Jersey, the New Jersey Temporary Disability Benefits Law provides up to 6-weeks of cash benefits to bond with a newborn or newly adopted child. There are three plans: a state plan, a private plan and an unemployment plan. For more information, click here.

Australia’s New Laws

There are two programs in Australia that provide paid leave to new parents. First, the Australian Government announced a new paid Parental Leave program for Australian families just this month. The program offers 18 weeks of Parental Leave, paid at the National Minimum Wage, for parents of children born or adopted after January 1st, 2011. Only the “primary carer” of the child is eligible for the program, and it is noted that this is usually the mother. Other special circumstances will be considered on a case by case basis. Secondly, there is a Baby Bonus available to all workers with an adjusted taxable income of less than or equal to $75,000. A first installment of $879.77 is paid to parents initially followed by approximately $379.77every 2 weeks for 12 weeks.) If parents qualify for the Baby Bonus, they cannot receive both the bonus and parental leave; they must choose one of the two. For more information, click here.

Norway: The Most Family-Friendly Laws Worldwide

Parental leave laws in Norway provide 42 weeks at 100% pay or 52 weeks at 80% pay and the mother and father can choose to share the leave period with a few stipulations: 3 weeks before delivery and 6 weeks after delivery are reserved for the mother and 4 weeks are reserved for the father. The rest of the leave can be used by either parent. Norway tops the list of family-friendly places to live providing 4 weeks paid paternity leave starting in 1993. Only 2.4% of Norwegian fathers took leave in 1992, but by 1997, over 70% of fathers took paternity leave. Each parent is also entitled to up to 1 year of unpaid leave per child, and this is extended to up to 2 years for a single parent. (ILO study, Gender Equality and Decent Work: Good Practices at the Workplace) Other countries are stepping up to the plate to provide parental leave for fathers too. Currently 31 countries require 14 weeks or more of paid leave for new fathers. (Human Rights Watch, 2011)
Most Scandinavian countries also offer other progressive ideas such as "daddy leave," guaranteed rights to childcare, and cash payments for home-based care.

Importance of Family Leave Laws

Countries that have parental leave programs show increased productivity, reduced turnover of employees, and even health care savings. Paid parental leave laws enable more parents to stay home and care for their infants during a vital time in their infants’ growth and development and supports parents that want to return to the workforce following this time. As we look into the future, we hope that soon parents everywhere will be supported by leave laws so that they can spend the precious newborn period and beyond with their babies while maintaining their employment.

References & Resources:

Parental Leave Policies in 21 Countries: Assessing Generosity and Gender Equality. By: Rebecca Ray, Janet C. Gornick and John Schmitt (September 2008). http://www.scribd.com/doc/5427460/Parental-Leave-Policies-in-21-Countries-Assessing-Generosity-and-Gender-Equality

Gender Equality and Decent Work: Good Practices at the Workplace. Maternity Protection International Labour Organization Convention No. 183, 2004.

MATERNITY AT WORK: A review of national legislation Findings from the ILO Database of Conditions of Work and Employment Laws. 2nd edition, 2010.

Failing Its Families: Lack of Paid Leave and Work-Family Supports in the US, Human Rights Watch, 2011.

Baby Behavior around the World: Key Caregivers of Babies Part 2

By Jennifer Goldbronn

Last time, we shared the first installment in this series called Baby Behavior around the World. We featured differences in the key caregivers of infants and children within several different cultures. Of course, any discussion of caregivers must include parents! In this post, we'll share what we've learned about how mothers' and fathers' roles have changed within the United States and beyond.

Caregiving Roles of Mothers

In the U.S. and other countries, many caregivers are facing the challenge of balancing career and family life in these tough economic times. Increasing numbers of U.S. mothers with young children are working and statistics show that 55% of mothers with a child under 1 year old work, compared to 31% in 1976. These changes force moms to seek alternative methods of childcare with grandparents, neighbors in the community or childcare in homes or centers. Other Western countries show similar findings.

In the majority of developing countries, mothers are responsible for childcare. In Nepal, working mothers in urban areas have less support from extended family than those in other areas. One study in Nepal found that working mothers relied more on their own older children (mostly girls) to care for their younger siblings. Among families who had an adult (non-mom) care for their children, the husband was the most common caregiver, followed by mothers-in-law and neighbors. On the other hand, non-working mothers were more likely to live in extended families and depend on other adults living in the same household to provide childcare.

Trends for Father as Caregiver

The role of father as primary caregiver has changed considerably over the past several decades, and research shows that today’s dads are committing more time to caring for their children than their own fathers did when they were growing up. In past posts, we discussed the changing role of fathers in the U.S. in their children’s lives and the growing number of stay-at-home dads, but is the role of “father” changing in other countries as well? Different cultures continue to instill fatherhood with different meanings. For example, in West Africa, fathers have little paternal involvement, but work to create their children's future social status by establishing social connections within their clan. Mothers and fathers of the Aka hunter-gatherers (of Central Africa) show an equal amount of affection and care for their infants while in some Brazilian communities, fathers are idealized as disciplinary, authoritative figures whose main role is to provide financial security. Studies do show that times are changing as the role of fathers is influenced by educational efforts (http://fatherhood.gov/ and http://www.fatherhood.org/) and increasing urbanization in developing countries.

My Story

The role of caregiver has been played by many different supportive friends and family members as my daughter Lily now reaches the age of 4. I was lucky enough to stay home for her first few months of life and when I returned to work, my sister-in-law cared for Lily as I worked part-time. Loving mothers continued to enter our lives and play a key role in caring for our little girl. Changes in the economy led to my husband’s current role of stay-at-home dad (probably the most challenging job of his life!) Long story short; it’s true; it does take a village to raise a child, even in the United States.

References and Resources:

1. Rasmussen, S. Children Dynamics: Anthropological Insights. Culture and Psychology. 2009;15(4): 433-449.
2. Morello, Carol (2010, Sept. 9). Grandparents increasingly fill the need as caregivers. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/09/AR2010090904076.html, 19 May 2011.
3. Hawkes, K. Human longevity: the grandmother effect. Nature. 2004;428:128–129.
4. USAID for the American People. Grandmothers: A learning Institution. Prepared by Judi Aubel, PhD., MPH, The Grandmother Project. August 2005.
5. Engle, P. Fathers’ Involvement with Children: Perspectives from Developing Countries, Social Policy Report. Society for Research in Child Development.1998;Volume XII, Number 1.
6. Golden, AG. Fathers’ Frames for Childrearing: Evidence Toward a “Masculine Concept of Caregiving”. Journal of Family Communication. 2007;7(4):265-285.
7. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2011, April 18). Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey: Earnings by demographics. Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/cps/earnings.htm#demographics.
8. Nakahara S, et al. Availability of Childcare Support and Nutritional Status of Children of Non-working and Working Mothers in Urban Nepal. Am J Hum Biol. 2006;18(2):169-81.

Baby Behavior around the World: Key Caregivers of Babies Part 1

We're happy to share a new series with you called Baby Behavior around the World! This series will be a bit different from those we have done in the past because it will consist of several posts interspersed with our regular postings over the coming months. With each Around the World post, we will be exploring caregiving practices around the globe and comparing how they are similar or different to those in the United States. Without further ado, let’s talk about key caregivers of babies in different areas of the world.

The need for a strong, healthy attachment between caregivers and infants is biological and an important part of caring for babies in every part of the world. Such attachments can positively influence babies’ social behavior and development. Understanding normal Baby Behavior is important for all caregivers of infants, especially since many different people, in many different settings, care for infants and contribute to infants’ growth and development. Many developing countries raise children in groups, receiving support from multiple generations of family, friends and neighbors. This “village” of caregivers may be more likely than families who are more isolated to pass on some of the messages we have found so important such as how babies sleep and how they communicate with caregivers to get their needs met.

Community as Caregiver
In many cultures, care of children is often shared by the greater community and it is expected that children will not be exclusively raised by their parents. Adults in a child’s surroundings (not just the biological parents) are trusted to provide care for the child. For example, children raised in rural, semi-nomadic households in the Sahara are raised by groups of mothers and sisters in the community. These female networks support each other in providing food and childcare. Meanwhile, in some villages on the Ivory Coast of West Africa, every member of the village is expected to visit each newborn as soon as possible after birth to encourage relationships between the child and members of the community. In Bali, mothers carry their babies in slings and are able to hand them over to nearby villagers whenever help is needed. In this society and others, elder women in the community play influential roles in caregiving of children.

“Grandmother” as Caregiver
With the recent recession, the number of children being raised by grandparents has risen in the United States. According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2008), 1 in 10 children in the U.S. now live with a grandparent, an 8% increase since 2000, with the majority of that increase after the beginning of the recession in 2007. In many countries, however, older women have always played a large role in caring for children in the family. Not surprisingly, one Finnish study found that there were many advantages of having other supportive caregivers, such as grandparents, available to care for children (yes, they studied that!). This study of the “Grandmother Hypothesis” indicated that mothers live longer and age slower when they receive support from their own mothers. Caregiver support provided by grandmothers or other female relatives often consists of child rearing advice, physical and emotional help, and an opportunity for children to develop a healthy connection with many potential role models. For example, African households follow a “hierarchical transmission of knowledge” from elder to younger female members of the family (such as mother-in-law to daughter-in-law) in caring for sick children. Also, in Chinese culture, a central role of older women is to care for children in the family and facilitate the passing on of child rearing traditions from generation to generation.

In our next installment in this series, we'll share what we've learned about recent trends in parents' roles in caring for babies and young children.

Your Turn: Who are the key caregivers in your baby’s life? How have these roles changed as your baby has grown?

References and Resources:
1. Rasmussen, S. Children Dynamics: Anthropological Insights. Culture and Psychology. 2009;15(4): 433-449.
2. Morello, Carol (2010, Sept. 9). Grandparents increasingly fill the need as caregivers. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/09/AR2010090904076.html, 19 May 2011.
3. Hawkes, K. Human longevity: the grandmother effect. Nature. 2004;428:128–129.
4. USAID for the American People. Grandmothers: A learning Institution. Prepared by Judi Aubel, PhD., MPH, The Grandmother Project. August 2005.
5. Engle, P. Fathers’ Involvement with Children: Perspectives from Developing Countries, Social Policy Report. Society for Research in Child Development.1998;Volume XII, Number 1.
6. Golden, AG. Fathers’ Frames for Childrearing: Evidence Toward a “Masculine Concept of Caregiving”. Journal of Family Communication. 2007;7(4):265-285.
7. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2011, April 18). Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey: Earnings by demographics. Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/cps/earnings.htm#demographics.
8. Nakahara S, et al. Availability of Childcare Support and Nutritional Status of Children of Non-working and Working Mothers in Urban Nepal. Am J Hum Biol. 2006;18(2):169-81.