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An unpublished study by Cornell University’s Assistant Professor of Economics Mallika Thomas on the issue of government policies for working parents finds that many programs established to help women in the workplace ultimately causes another set of problems. Professor Thomas finds “the problem ends up being that all women, even those who do not anticipate having children or cutting back in hours, may be penalized.”
The United States lacks a pointed policy for working parents. Instead, they rely on the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, which the allots 12 weeks of unpaid leave for working parents or caretakers at larger companies. Before this policy was passed, women were five percent more likely to remain employed but less likely to receive a promotion, according to The New York Times.
Interestingly enough, Chile has a child-care law in effect that requires companies who employed 20 or more women provide and pay for their child care if they have children under the age of two. These companies must also be located near their employees’ child care, so they can tend to their children if necessary. Sounds pretty good. But despite the comparisons between countries, Maria F. Prade, who serves as an economist at the Inter-American Development Bank, found in her own study that women’s salaries have been negatively affected due to child care laws. Starting salaries for women have declined between nine percent and 20 percent.
And it’s not just Chile. In nearly two dozen countries, it was found that while there are allowances for women to stay home with their babies, back at work, they’re more likely to be stuck in lower level positions. Prada says that for women, what’s “thought to be a provision to help [women] participate in the labor force and achieve more work-family balance, and it’s doing the opposite.”
In order for working parents, especially women earn achievements they deserve, experts suggest that policies must be made gender neutral. For example, places such as Sweden and Quebec encourage both parents to take maternity/paternity leave. Therefore, the issue revolving around child care policies becomes a human issue instead of a woman’s issue.
On this site, we’ve argued that more men should fight for the right to spend time with their newborn children. It looks like the science is backing up that belief.
