The question of whether parents should spend time bonding with their newborns was answered experimentally, through neuroscience and psychology. Likewise, the question of whether businesses and societies should provide paid parental leave is being answered experimentally, through an economic experiment in California.
“Men are doubling down on their daddy duties,” said Karyn Twaronite, global diversity and inclusiveness officer at Ernst & Young. “They want to have impact at home as well as at work.”
An overflow crowd cheered on Tuesday when the Morristown council voted against tweaking an ordinance that requires local employers to provide paid sick days to workers who earn them.
National Partnership President Debra Ness and Dr. Salil Deshpande, Chief Medical Officer at UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Texas, discuss five common pregnancy myths that, when taken as fact, could affect new mothers’ health and their pregnancy, and even prevent babies from having the best possible start in life.
Less than 24 hours before passing its tax overhaul through the House, the GOP revised the legislation to include a paid family leave tax credit. Why aren’t paid leave advocates celebrating?
Vicki Shabo, vice president at the National Partnership for Women & Families, says that this bill is only a drop in the bucket of support to businesses already taking the lead on this issue. The provision provides “a very small tax credit to businesses that voluntarily provide at least a minimal level, two weeks, of paid family or medical leave,” she said.
Statement of Debra L. Ness, President, National Partnership for Women & Families
“The hope is that if they throw enough anti-abortion language at the wall something is going to stick,” said Sarah Lipton-Lubet, vice president at the National Partnership for Women & Families. “It’s a dubious strategy. It’s an affront to women.”
“This is really an extraordinary teaching moment for our nation,” said Debra Ness, president of the National Partnership for Women & Families. “We are in an environment where the people coming forward, rather than being attacked or villainized, what we are seeing is that their stories are being accorded gravity,” she said.
It’s clear on which side doctors come down: They say workers with the flu or a cold should use sick days far more often than they do. Though millions of Americans don’t get paid time off when they’re sick, those who do have the option often don’t take it.
“For people who are living paycheck to paycheck or have significant debt, the risks of staying home and losing pay or potentially losing their job are far too great,” said Vicki Shabo, vice president for workplace policies and strategies at the National Partnership for Women & Families.
Whether the employee is a college student trying to pay rent or a single parent dealing with a child with the flu, sickness and domestic violence don’t only affect those with full-time employment.
[I]n the United States, whether you have the time and financial support for caregiving too often depends on whether you happen to work for a company that offers paid sick days or paid family and medical leave. It likely also depends on whether lawmakers or your human resources department decide your loved one counts as “family.”
As two professors focused on the intersections of work, adult health and development at Boston College and the University of Denver, respectively, we have looked carefully at the ample evidence demonstrating the need for workplaces that value and respect caregiving.
For survivors of domestic violence, maintaining your economic independence and financial security can be key to escaping your abuser and protecting your family.
Those of us who have paid sick time at our jobs take for granted that we can afford to go to the doctor for preventive care, or stay home when we’re contagious.
When I gave birth to my second child three months ago – in the heat of summer and a re-election campaign – I found myself in a situation that women across the country face. I needed to go back to work, but many childcare centers won’t accept babies until they’re at least three months old.
Statement of Debra L. Ness, President, National Partnership for Women & Families
For National Family Caregivers Month, 113 of the nation’s leading researchers on aging, work and family issues sent a first-of-its-kind letter to Congress today urging lawmakers to address rapidly growing demand for care by establishing a national paid family...
“We applaud the signers of this letter for pushing for a paid leave plan that addresses the full range of care needs people face,” said Debra L. Ness, president of the National Partnership for Women & Families. “The FAMILY Act is the only paid leave proposal before Congress that would provide protections for workers and families at all stages of life.”
