“Attracting and retaining the most talented workforce does not solely lie in downtown amenities and adding jobs, it also requires providing a twenty-first-century workforce for twenty-first century families,” said Mayor Bob Buckhorn.

“Paid parental leave will give Duke Energy employees important quality time to bond with their new children without the financial pressure of having to immediately return to work. That’s good for our employees and their children,” Melissa Anderson, Duke Energy executive vice president and chief human resources officer, said in a statement.

Paid family leave was one of the few policy areas where Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton agreed during the campaign, so there’s a good chance that Congress will consider paid family leave proposals under President Trump. Here are seven questions everyone should be asking.

For some expectant parents, 2016 was a banner year and December a flag-waver: More than two dozen large employers announced that they would bolster their paid family leave benefits.

There are concrete ways women (and their allies) can advocate for themselves at work, in spite of resistance — and even hostility — from on high.

Mike Cruse is the father of a new baby. His daughter Olivia was born in July. But like most fathers in the U.S., he doesn’t get paid parental leave.

The D.C. Council gave final approval to a plan that will provide private-sector workers some of the nation’s most generous family and medical leave benefits, fighting off a last-minute revolt by the city’s business establishment and Mayor Muriel E. Bowser.

Utah is a state that emphasizes strengthening families. However, our current treatment of working mothers does not reflect this community value.

My name is Cecile Johnston, and I am the owner of Jumping Raindrops Sewing and Design in Montpelier. I’m writing to address the importance of a statewide family and medical leave insurance program and shine a light on the very real implications such a program would have for families throughout the state of Vermont.

We were glad to hear the President-elect talk about the need for relief for working women. But those of us who have fought for decades for affordable leave cannot support his flawed proposal for paid maternity leave, and members of Congress who believe in real policy change for working families should not support it either.

Starting Jan. 1, Ikea’s 14,000 salaried and hourly workers in the U.S. will receive up to four months of paid parental leave. Lars Petersson, head of Ikea’s U.S. operations, told the Wall Street Journal that the company expects the program to improve productivity and reduce turnover.

Too often new parents feel terrified—and not just about the daunting prospect of raising a child. Many of them must grapple with a gut-wrenching decision: How quickly can they leave their newborn to get back to their job? Few can afford to go without salaries for long or to weaken their future wage-earning potential by leaving their job altogether.

As National Adoption Month comes to a close, we reflected on local employers who’ve made an impact in the lives of employees who adopt. Extending paid parental leave is a trend several large banks have joined this year to build in more flexibility and financial support for employees to care for their families.

When taking time off after giving birth means risking a paycheck, everything becomes arduous — healing, bonding with the baby, breastfeeding. Governments need to invest in guaranteed paid family and medical leave and other policies so that families don’t have to win the job lottery to give their children the healthiest start to life.