New parents in the U.S. are guaranteed their jobs for 12 weeks after the arrival of a new baby. The law requires larger employers and public agencies to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave, a continuation of health benefits for the birth or adoption of a child, or to care for an opposite-sex spouse, a parent or a child who has fallen ill. The law only requires companies with 50 or more employees to comply to get the benefits and employees must also have worked for the company for at least a year and logged 1,250 hours within the last 12 months. However some employees do not have to be paid during that time and are not offered the same benefits if they are part of a small company.
             How do US policies compare with those of 2 other countries?
             As stated in the New York Times article "In Paid Family Leave, U.S. Trails Most of the Globe", most of Europe and Central Asia provide 26 weeks or more of paid leave for mothers. In Switzerland, women are allowed 14 weeks of maternity leave and receive 80% of their usual earnings. France, Germany and Spain provide mothers at least 3 years of parental leave. Also in Sweden, parents are given 480 paid days per child, to be shared between them and used anytime before the kid turns eight.
             How do policies on parental leave influence gender equity in the workplace?
             Gender Equity is the fairness of treatment by gender, which may be equal treatment or treatment which is different but which is considered equivalent in terms of rights, benefits, obligations and opportunities. Social expectations have been that women will take on most, if not all, childcare responsibilities. The policies on parental leave are designed differently when it comes to men versus women. As stated in the New York Times article, in the United States the birth parent can take paid leave their put in the position where they are forced to follow societies traditional gender roles. The text shows in chapter 42, that fa...