The American Board of Surgery Should Reconsider Its Parental Leave Policy

AbstractWorking women are without substantial protection from the ramifications of pregnancy discrimination, and the opportunities for working men to take leave from work to participate in child care are limited. Recently, private businesses have begun implementing maternity or parental leave policies to address these problems. These policies are inconsistent, however, and a national parental leave program is needed to help women attain equal access to jobs and to provide men with the opportunity to participate in child care.This Note examines the historical background of pregnancy discrimination litigation and legislation, and highlights the gaps in the protection currently afforded women. It suggests that a federal parental leave policy may expand the scope of this protection, and attempts to gain insight and draw conclusions from analogous parental leave programs in foreign countries which may be used as models for a national program in the U.S. Such a program would benefit parents, children, and society by removing some of the obstacles to sexual equality.

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Fathers on Leave: Experiences of Middle-Class Fathers on Parental Leave in the City of Zagreb

Revija za socijalnu politiku ◽

10.3935/rsp.v28i3.1807 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 28 (3) ◽

pp. 391-413

Author(s):

Mirna Varga

Keyword(s):

Middle Class ◽

Key Words ◽

Parental Leave ◽

Work And Family ◽

Sudden Increase ◽

Initial Decision ◽

Leave Policy ◽

The City ◽

Insight Into

Parental leave reforms that aimed at higher father’s involvement in childcare began in the 1970s. However, the number of fathers who took parental leave increased only in the 1990s when Scandinavian countries began introducing father’s quotas or paternity leaves, that is, earmarked leave periods to be used by fathers or otherwise lost. Croatia introduced the two-month father’s quota as late as in 2013. Although the reform did not contribute to a sudden increase in the number of fathers on parental leave, there is always a steady, albeit small, number of fathers taking up leave. This article aims to provide an insight into fathers’ experiences on parental leave in Croatia. Relying on interviews with 11 middle-class fathers in the City of Zagreb, the article explores father’s motives for taking leave, their experience regarding the initial decision and the procedure of exercising their right to leave and their experience of being on leave. Results suggest that the fathers were very eager to use their right to leave and spend time with their children. They mostly used longer leaves (more than 3 months) and the experience of being home alone with the child made the fathers learn new skills in relation to childcare and housework, but also rethink their relation to work and family. Key words: parental leave policy, parental leave, father’s quotas, fathers’ experiences, Croatia

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Parental leave policy

Reconciliation Policy in Germany 1998–2008 ◽

10.1007/978-3-531-91924-9_7 ◽

2009 ◽

pp. 163-197

Author(s):

Cornelius Grebe

Keyword(s):

Parental Leave ◽

Leave Policy

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P138: Parental leave policies and culture for physicians in emergency medicine

CJEM ◽

10.1017/cem.2020.342 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 22 (S1) ◽

pp. S114-S114

Author(s):

J. Andruko ◽

T. Green

Keyword(s):

Emergency Medicine ◽

Maternity Leave ◽

Parental Leave ◽

Physician Satisfaction ◽

Emergency Physicians ◽

Physical And Mental Health ◽

Research Committee ◽

Paternity Leave ◽

Formal Policy ◽

Leave Policy

Introduction: Medicine demands a sacrifice of physicians’ personal life, but culture has slowly changed towards valuing a balanced work life. Parental leave is linked to better physical and mental health, but policies and culture surrounding parental leave are largely unstudied in the Canadian Emergency Medicine landscape. Anecdotally, experiences vary widely. This study was designed to determine what proportion of Canadian Emergency Departments have formal parental leave policies (maternity, paternity, and other ex. adoption) and what proportion of Canadian EM physicians are satisfied with their department's parental leave policies. Methods: Two surveys were generated; one to assess attitudes and experiences of emergency physicians, and a second survey for department chiefs assessed the policies and their features. These were approved by the UBC REB and distributed through the CAEP Research Committee. Primary outcomes were physician satisfaction with their department's parental leave policy (4-5/5 Likert Scale), and departments with a formal parental leave policy (Y/N). Results: 38% (8/21) of department chiefs reported having a formal policy for maternity leave, 29% (6/21) for paternity leave, and 24% (5/21) other. The survey of Emergency Physicians revealed similar rates at 48% (90/187) maternity, 40% (70/184) paternity, 29% (53/181) other. Among physicians who were aware of them, 69% (62/90) were somewhat or very satisfied with the maternity leave policies, 58% (51/88) with paternity leave policies, and 48% (39/81) with other parental leave. Less than 10% were somewhat or very dissatisfied with any of these. Several department chiefs commented that they had never refused anyone parental leave, but have no formal policy. However, 87% (147/187) of physicians reported a formal maternity leave policy was somewhat or very important to them; similarly 80% (134/187) paternity leave. Less than 15% felt each was somewhat or extremely unimportant. Conclusion: Presence and type of parental leave policy varies across the country. Most physicians were satisfied with the support they had available, but the vast majority felt that a formal maternity and paternity leave policy itself was important. This study would suggest that, without actually changing practice, the introduction of a formal parental leave policy is of value. Our research group will use this data to collaborate on a template parental leave policy to be made available for this purpose.

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United Kingdom: leave policy and an attempt to take a new path

Parental Leave and Beyond ◽

10.1332/policypress/9781447338772.003.0004 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 57-74

Author(s):

Peter Moss ◽

Margaret O’Brien

Keyword(s):

United Kingdom ◽

Gender Equality ◽

Maternity Leave ◽

Parental Leave ◽

Path Dependency ◽

European Countries ◽

Change Of Direction ◽

Classic Case ◽

Leave Policy

This chapter examines an attempt to transform UK leave policy, re-configuring it away from maternalism and towards greater gender equality, and why this attempted change of direction failed. It shows how the country introduced statutory leave at a late date, compared to other European countries, and adopted with little consideration a model centred on long and low paid Maternity Leave. After two decades of neglect, when leave policy came back onto the government’s agenda, this model became more established as Maternity Leave was further extended, while a newly introduced Parental Leave was marginalised. Attempted reform, in 2011-12, failed, due to insufficient support and understanding, leaving UK leave policy as a classic case of path dependency.

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Predictors of parental leave support: Bad news for (big) dads and a policy for equality

Group Processes & Intergroup Relations ◽

10.1177/1368430217751630 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 21 (5) ◽

pp. 810-830

Author(s):

Jamie L. Gloor ◽

Xinxin Li ◽

Rebecca M. Puhl

Keyword(s):

Gender Equality ◽

Gender Inequality ◽

Policy Design ◽

Parental Leave ◽

Managerial Discretion ◽

Bad News ◽

Unpaid Labor ◽

Leave Policy ◽

Employee Characteristics ◽

Variable Support

Parenthood increases gender inequality in paid (employment) and unpaid labor (e.g., caretaking). New parental leave plans aim to increase gender equality by reducing managerial discretion and offering gender-neutral benefits. However, coworkers may undermine these inclusive aims, particularly if they show variable support per employee characteristics. Thus, we examine why and how employee gender and obesity interactively predict coworkers’ support for parental leave and test an intervention to increase equality. Three between-subjects experiments with working American adults ( Ns = 133–252) indicate that obesity decreases coworkers’ parental leave support for men, but increases coworkers’ parental leave support for women; these effects are replicated and mediated by coworkers’ caregiving ability expectations of the employees, inequalities that are reduced when parental leave is made the default. Discussion focuses on our results’ implications for theory, practice, and for men and women’s paid and unpaid labor, including recommendations for parental leave policy design and delivery to increase equality.

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Conflicting Policy Feedback: Enduring Tensions over Father Quotas in Norway

Social Politics International Studies in Gender State & Society ◽

10.1093/sp/jxaa027 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Anne Lise Ellingsæter

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Parental Leave ◽

Public Debate ◽

Policy Debate ◽

Policy Feedback ◽

Political Field ◽

Main Area ◽

Leave Policy ◽

Reform Processes

Abstract This study aims to advance the understanding of drivers of fathers’ parental leave rights—a new political field and a main area of leave policy debate. Theoretically informed by the policy feedback literature, this case study of father quota policy in Norway demonstrates how conflicting political feedback processes over a quarter of a century, reflected in reforms by shifting government coalitions, have sustained tensions over the policy. The polarized public debate following an extension in the father quota in 2018 suggests that countermobilization via social media may play a new role in magnifying conflict and destabilizing post-reform processes.

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United States paid parental leave and infant mortality

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy ◽

10.1108/ijssp-10-2019-0197 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 40 (1/2) ◽

pp. 145-153

Author(s):

Brandy Snyder

Keyword(s):

Infant Mortality ◽

Design Methodology ◽

Parental Leave ◽

Replacement Policy ◽

Future Research ◽

Content Type ◽

Leave Policy ◽

The Usa ◽

Paid Parental Leave ◽

College Educated

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to synthesize findings on the effects of existing paid parental leave programs on infant mortality rates (IMR) in the USA as an attempt to aid in efforts for the development of a national paid parental leave policy. Design/methodology/approach Three articles were reviewed to analyze findings on the effects of existing parental leave programs on IMR in the USA. Findings The results from the three studies analyzed indicate that unpaid parental leave and parental leave with partial wage replacement can reduce IMR in households with college educated, working mothers. Research limitations/implications This review is limited due to only having three studies available to synthesize that pertained to the USA. Implications for future research are to examine the effects of fully paid parental leave programs offered by individual organizations on IMR in the USA. Social implications Providing a needs-based income replacement policy to mothers who wish to take parental leave after the birth of a child may be the best policy to decrease IMR for infants from all socioeconomic backgrounds. Originality/value The findings in this review will aid in the ongoing efforts to develop a national paid parental leave policy in the USA.

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