I was out for lunch with some girls from class and we were discussing maternity leave [I don't know why]. I made a comment about my friend who had a baby who is still enjoying her year off and my American friends were shocked - maternity leave?? WITH PAY?! Their jaws dropped. Confused, I asked how much Americans get and the response?
No paid maternity leave, minimal unpaid.
I looked it up on wikipedia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maternity_leave#Americas
Check it out - the US gives 0 weeks paid maternity leave and 6 weeks unpaid. Given that the importance of early mother-baby bonding has been emphasized in research for years now, I am surprised [and sadly not surprised] to find this out. Curiously, the only other countries that appear to offer no paid maternity leave include:
Lesotho
Australia [weird, huh?]
Swaziland
Latvia [apparently offers 10 paternity days but not maternity days??]
I'm not sure if a lack of a number indicates missing data or whether that means maternity leave isn't offered. Regardless, when countries such as Ukraine, Yemen, Iran, El Salvador, and Nigeria are offering more maternity leave than you are, you're in bad shape.
I would also like to highlight Denmark's policy on maternity/paternity leave:
1 year. To be shared between the parents as they see fit.
Man, I love this country. Who's moving there with me?
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1 comment:
It's one year leave in Canada as well (split as parents see fit)... in the federal gov't it's at 93% of your salary too
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