Why Does the U.S. Fall Behind?

The U.S. falls behind pretty much every other industrialized nation when it comes to supporting working families. The Project on Global Working Families released a report last year that provides some surprising facts about the shortcomings in U.S. policy (see full report here).

Here are a few:
- Out of 173 countries studied, 168 countries offer guaranteed leave with income to women in connection with childbirth; 98 of these countries offer 14 or more weeks paid leave. The U.S. offers none (the other four countries that offer none are Lesotho, Liberia, Papua New Guinea, and Swaziland)
- At least 107 countries protect working women’s right to breastfeed; in at least 73 of these the breaks are paid. The U.S. provides no protection.
- We know that time off benefits are important to families, however the U.S. is not one of the 137 countries mandate paid annual leave.
- At least 145 countries provide paid sick days for short- or long-term illnesses, with 127 providing a week or more annually. More than 79 countries provide sickness benefits for at least 26 weeks or until recovery. The U.S. provides only unpaid leave for serious illnesses through the FMLA, which does not cover all workers.

Why are these things important? According to the report paid leave and other family benefits are important because:

- Improve children’s health outcomes by making more time available to parents to provide essential care for children, by facilitating breastfeeding which reduces the risk of infections,. More time for parents also allows for the formation of bonds between parents and children, fostering positive emotional development of children.
- Improves economic conditions of families by increasing the long-term employment and earning prospects of working parents, especially by eliminating the wage "child penalty" mothers often pay, thereby increasing job security and ensuring consistent income.
- Benefits employers by reducing staff turnover, which can lower recruitment and training costs and improve workers’ productivity. When workers feel supported, they have higher levels of job satisfaction that, in turn, increase their commitment to their company’s success.

So it would appear that the U.S. which seems to be a successful nation lags dramatically in the area of supporting working families. While I have become a little more politically active over the last few years, I don't know enough about national policy setting to really understand the root of this lag. This is, however, one of the reasons I think we should pay close attention to who we are electing to lead the country this year.