Policy Brief 7
Policy Brief
Chinsia Francis-Hill
Ronda Malabe-Stagias
Jerin Chowdury
Baruch College
LACK OF PAID PARENTAL LEAVE
1. Katie Roberts addressed an excellent topic that has been the source of campaign debates and classroom discussions around the country. Katie had a relaxed and professional manner that conveyed her extensive knowledge of the subject manner. Katie was able to hone in and clarify subject matter directly without straying from the policy brief. Overall, the data provided conveyed a national problem that is an alarming issue of neglect when compared globally with less privileged countries. The policy recommendations were in a logical sequence and made perfectly good sense. The data could have used some more statistics and a chart that better emphasized part of the main thesis which is the United States is on the bottom of the rung in regards to paid leave for child care. In addition, some more statics regarding the benefits of paid leave when a comparison is made to the three states that are currently providing parental leave here in United States.
2. The author was spot on when she compared the infant and child mortality, child health, women mental and physical capacity, early childhood development etc. for these three states with the remaining states. This comparison discloses the benefit of parental leave for the mother and child development. An additional graph for these specific points would be beneficial in the policy brief and the power point presentation. That is only if that information is available. If not, the presenter can talk about the disturbing outcomes to mother and child that maybe happening right now that have not been quantified.
2. Before moving to the possible solutions, we understand the parental leave in other countries by following image. (Katy Hall, 2013). The graph used in the presentation was good but underwhelming. Below is an example of a graph that is eye catching and highlights the United States’
There are some other possible solutions for the problem is as follows.
· The company can provide ten week paid leave and after that provides the option of part time work to the mother for more ten weeks, which would support Katie’s ideas.
· As a recommendation in the FMLA extension the state can also contribute for the paid leave of employees. The company can grant the paid leave to the employees for fourteen weeks (as per international standard) and the salary amount is contributed by the state and the company equally. The tax benefit for prospective employers was genius. This motivates the company to provide the paid leave to their employees and burden is distributed between state and the companies. (best-place-have-baby-parental-leave, 2015). The policy also includes the clause of benefits for maximum two children. Maybe the family size should be increased.
3. The information provided could be enhanced with some more supporting data from existing statics that can help to emphasize the absolute necessity of a policy for paid parental leave in the United States. Below please review some websites and different angles that can help drive you message home to the President.
· The benefit of paid parental leave for developed countries in terms of employee satisfaction, impact on productivity after paid leave, physical and mental health of the employee, child health , childhood development etc. (Big Leaps for Parental Leave, if Workers Actually Take It, 2015)
· The level at which the state can help financially in this issue. This data will help the policy makers to finalise the policy.
· The child birth rate in the United States, the average number of parental leave used by employees in a year, the ration of women employees as compared to men.
Overall the presentation was fantastic and thought provoking. It is the group consensus that your policy presentation was outstanding.
References
best-place-have-baby-parental-leave. (2015, october 19). Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/20/best-place-have-baby-parental-leave
Big Leaps for Parental Leave, if Workers Actually Take It. (2015, sep 2). new york times , p. A1.
Katy Hall, C. S. (2013, feb 5). Paid Parental Leave: U.S. vs. The World (INFOGRAPHIC). The Huffington Post .
maternity-protection/lang--en/index.htm. (n.d.). Retrieved oct 19, 2015, from www.ilo.org: http://www.ilo.org/global/standards/subjects-covered-by-international-labour-standards/maternity-protection/lang--en/index.htm