The US has very poor parental policies. Paid time off after delivery is usually not universal, and adopting parents often are discriminated against -because they don't need to physically recover. Bonding time with children is not at all facilitated. New moms pretty much have a choice: go back to work full time or quit altogether. It's so rare to find part-time or shared work with good benefits. To add to that, daycare is super expensive.
So on one hand, I am grateful to work in an organization that gives moms partially paid time off after delivery/adoption, but on the other, I am still very frustrated at the lack of compromise companies are willing to make to accommodate new parents. Look around you. How many parents do you know wish they could work part time but don't have that option? I'm sure that would be quite a few.
Ok, that post doesn't really have a conclusion. It was more of a rant. Now I'm going to read some fiction that is not going to make my blood boil!
4 comments:
It is infuriating that the US is so behind. I am often so outraged that they (ok, we) have the nerve to think that we are so on top of things but it seems to me that the only thing that the US excels at is domination and breeding fear.
Yeah, it's kind of funny how grateful we are for a few months off and consider it generous compared to some people getting maybe 6 weeks or nothing at all, yet overall compared to other countries it's pretty pathetic. It really does feel like our system in the US works against moms & kids. Part of that is just our capitalistic mind set -you have to work/constantly produce to be valued in the job market.
PS - I will have to check that book out at the library.
I only got six weeks of unpaid time off! I could have taken six more weeks of unpaid time off without losing my job, but we couldn't afford that. I did not qualify for any paid time off because my bargaining unit does not participate in SDI! Ridiculous.
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