scholarly journals Mind the Gap: A Difference-in-Difference Analysis of the Heterogeneous Effects of Paid Family Leave Policies on Women’s and Men’s Earned Income in the United States

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Griffin Lerner ◽  
Anne Sivley ◽  
Tyler Brenton
Keyword(s):  
Wage Gap ◽  
The United States ◽  
Family Leave ◽  
Racial Groups ◽  
Difference In Difference ◽  
The Past ◽  
Paid Family Leave ◽  
Heterogeneous Effects ◽  
Additional Burden ◽  
Family Leave Policies

Since 2004, four states have begun to offer paid family leave benefits intended in part to improve labor outcomes for women as they often take on the additional burden of caregiving responsibilities. Using American Community Survey data, we analyze the effect of these policies on the gender wage gap and find results consistent with these intentions. Employing a difference-in-difference design, our analysis finds significant increases in female earnings relative to men, as well as hours worked, in states with paid family leave policies. These results remain positive across racial groups and demonstrate particularly strong effects among women who gave birth in the past year.

scholarly journals Paid family leave on local television news in the United States: Setting the agenda for policy reform.

2021 ◽  
pp. 100821
Author(s):  
Margaret Tait ◽  
Colleen Bogucki ◽  
Laura Baum ◽  
Erika Franklin Fowler ◽  
Jeff Niederdeppe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Policy Reform ◽  
Television News ◽  
The United States ◽  
Family Leave ◽  
Local Television ◽  
Paid Family Leave ◽  
Local Television News

scholarly journals Paid Family Leave to Strengthen the STEM Workforce

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (02) ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Alex Hsain ◽  
Ryan Tam ◽  
Ishita Kamboj ◽  
Hanna Berman ◽  
Ryan Dudek
Keyword(s):  
Parental Leave ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Women In Science ◽  
Family Leave ◽  
Stem Leave ◽  
Paid Family Leave ◽  
The Family ◽  
Paid Parental Leave ◽  
And Mathematics

In the United States many women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) leave their careers after becoming a parent. Attrition is simultaneously occurring with workforce shortages in STEM with two million jobs potentially unfilled by 2025. While there has been an increase in STEM recruitment of women over recent decades, policies aimed at decreasing departure of women in STEM have not been prioritized. The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) guarantees workers up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave, but has not shown to increase workforce attachment of new mothers. Instead, studies suggest that short durations of paid leave (6-12 weeks) increase workforce attachment. Medical consensus suggests that a leave of 26 weeks is necessary for maternal health and a leave of 40 weeks is optimal for infant well-being. Coupled with recently introduced paid parental leave legislation in Congress, we recommend timely action to decrease the departure of women from the workforce and to strengthen gender equality in STEM. We recommend instituting 12 weeks of federal paid family leave (PFL) under the recently introduced national family leave insurance program in the Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act (FAMILY Act; S. 463/H.R. 1185).

scholarly journals Support for Paid Family Leave among Small Employers Increases during the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 237802312110619
Author(s):  
Ann P. Bartel ◽  
Maya Rossin-Slater ◽  
Christopher J. Ruhm ◽  
Meredith Slopen ◽  
Jane Waldfogel
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
New York ◽  
The United States ◽  
Family Leave ◽  
Limited Data ◽  
Federal Level ◽  
Paid Family Leave ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Small Employers ◽  
High Support

The United States is one of the few countries that does not guarantee paid family leave (PFL) to workers. Proposals for PFL legislation are often met with opposition from employer organizations, which fear disruptions to business, especially among small employers. But there are limited data on employers’ views. The authors surveyed firms with 10 to 99 employees in New York and New Jersey on their attitudes toward PFL programs before and during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. There was high support for state PFL programs in 2019 that rose substantially over the course of the pandemic: by the fall of 2020, almost 70 percent of firms were supportive. Increases in support were larger among firms that had employees using PFL, suggesting that experience with PFL led to employers becoming more supportive. Thus, concerns about negative impacts on small employers should not impede efforts to expand PFL at the state or federal level.

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