This is a shocking situation. I am Australian and 18wks pregnant with my first baby. So far I have not paid $1 for any tests or appointments. I will not pay anything to give birth. The government will give me minimum wage for 3 months because, unusually, my company doesn't offer any paid leave. They will, however, keep my job open for 2 years while I care for and bond with my tiny little helpless baby. I feel so lucky. Although, as you said, this is the norm for all of the developed world... except one. Australia and England aren't commies. We pay tax and get benefits. And our economies have not crashed.
Robert Willis Parents having supportive resources to raise productive members of societies are good for all even those who don't have children. When you're old and need healthcare in a hospital, someone will have raised the nurse and doctor that cares for you, etc. Unless of course you are a nihilist who wants the human race to end, then your comment is logically sound.
I think the problem with this discussion, as with many others, comes down to greed and capitalism. A lot of Americans/corporations are only worried about themselves. "Why do MY tax dollars need to go to you having a baby?" or "Why am I supposed to pay for someone to not work?". The answer to both of those questions are because it's the right thing to do. Mothers are not looking for handouts. Mothers are asking for additional time to bond with their child, the most important time there is with a child. And, as stated in the video, they aren't allowed to do that because of the financial burden it puts on their family. This isn't the 1940s anymore. Men aren't always the bread winners and most families live off two incomes. When you take away one of those incomes, what do you expect to happen? "Well then they should set aside money before having the baby." OK and how realistic is that? Not only saving enough money to cover the ever increasing costs of having the baby in the first place (and whatever medical complications that could come with) but also 6-12 months of income. Really? If that were the case, no one would have babies. My wife and I had our first child last year and her employer provided paid leave. My employer also gave me two weeks, which is rare. And because my wife had a C-section, she couldn't hardly walk and she absolutely was forbidden to drive. So I drove her to doctor appts and helped out with numerous other things that she was to weak to do because she was still recovering. Had I not been there or even worse had she been forced back to work in her condition, I don't want to imagine how that would have worked out. Why are my tax dollars going to these Hurricane victims? They chose to live in Houston and Florida where their chances of flooding and hurricanes are much higher. Maybe they should have thought about that before buying a house there. Not my problem. Stop expecting handouts from the government for YOUR poor residential decisions. ^^^^ Do you hear how heartless that sounds? The sad thing about the US is how we've labeled fellow Americans as leeches or sponges or parasites when we should be looking at them as if they were a mirror. Treat people with dignity and compassion as if they were you.
Yes, "it's the right thing to do" is a sound moral argument. But, the government shouldn't be enforcing moral laws. "Moral Arguments" are subject. Enforcing what you're advocating for on a wide scale might have bad consequences for women long-term. Employers might start discriminating and stop hiring women.
Countries that have paid maternity leave have rules where the employer cannot fire the women for going on leave and of her position is abolished during her leave theres rules for that too, cant remember tho
Thank you for the inspiring talk. I am a physician and get no paid maternity leave after six weeks. This is blasphemy. We need to get more women fighting for each other and equality in the workplace.
The US government, business sector, and society in general has so much motivation to invest in the nation's next generation, at minimum to care for and protect the current and aging generation. What better way to invest than in policies such as adequate paid maternity and paternity leave. Paid leave contributes to healthier parents, healthier children, and as a result, a more vibrant economy and society. What would this conversation look like if men were charged with pregnancy, childbirth and recovery. Thank you for this powerful, timely and important video.
Thank you for speaking out for us! I wonder what percentage of the 12% of women who have paid maternity leave, have jobs/wages that would make it easier to take unpaid leave. I know I had no paid leave, and we scrambled to make it through what little time I did take. We need to create change in this broken system. Thank you for sharing these strong, scary, depressing facts!
just like an university education having children should be the financial responsibility of the parents and not society. if you cant afford the kid then save until you can. i agree moms should have flexible work hours but paying someone who isnt at work the same as those having to cover her shift isn't equality . its actually the oppose. equal pay for unequal work the very same discrimination women are campaigning against . ive experienced it first hand. its extremely stressful especially in small business of 10 or less ppl for coworkers to cover someones shift for 4 months ,the only scenario this works is in big companies like google and amazon were they have 100s to 1000s of workers so the void can be easily covered . we need a better solution than just giving a person massive time off paid. some people will even abuse this and likely get pregnant every year .
@@PersonOfBook companies can pay for it. it can come out of their yacht funds. and for small companies? if you cant afford paid leave for employees then save until you can.
Thank you, Jessica, for such an incredible presentation. I appreciate your opening about the pictures we see of 'working mothers' on the internet and how unrealistic the pictures are. In addition, I was deeply saddened by the stories you told of women having to return back to work soon after giving birth. As you stated, "Childbirth is, and will always be, an enormous psychological event" and with that being said, I agree that the US should provide paid leave to all working parents.
Thank you so much for this. No one understands the pain of having a child and having to go back to work and your babies food source is attached to your body!
Actually I know people who felt the pain of working 12-15 hours a day for a couple years prior to having their children for the mother to be out of work for an extended period of time. Why should others have to work more and sacrifice more for you to have kids? This whole notion that the only choice mothers have is to go back to work right after giving birth to be able to get by financially is ludicrous. Choices could have been made years prior to a pregnancy to budget and/or work more to put money aside for an extended leave from work. It's funny how many people want businesses to pay the salary of someone for an extended time when they are not at work. How would you like it if your cable company said they were going to stop providing you service for up to 6 months but you still had to pay them?
hi I have question . I'm from Philippines and my fiance is from united states in auburn and I'm pregnant right now. is it possible that he can use his maternity leave overseas? here in Philippines ? thanks for the reply
Would this extend to people needing cancer treatment/dialysis/major life-saving surgery? That's what your tax money (to fund research) and your insurance money go toward. Unless you are paying a la carte for your medical needs.
In the US, if you are an educated woman with a professional job; you will not get paid anything, or any financial assistance with daycare. If you are educated and work full time, the only way you can take time to have a baby is if you have either family member who is willing to take care of your child, or if you have a spouse who can support you. Daycare can not be paid for by a single mother. In the US, most daycare if MORE than a mortgage. People don't understand that right now, the main women in the US who are having chidren, are not highly educated, do not have professional jobs, and are mostly on benefits; and that is because they are the only ones who CAN have a child and do not have to worry about daycare. Most of them qualify for subsidized daycare, and if you are not working, you have *nothing* to lose. US Govt is not realizing what type of "next generation" they are actually creating if most of the children in our next generation (not all) are coming from severely undereducated parents who are not in the work force. Only a small percentage of children have two parents who both can together pay for the daycare.
That's false, its whoever files for the leave. So if dad files he chooses. Fathers in Quebec get 5 weeks and then can share the rest. Most choose not to take more time because they care for there significant other
We need mandatory paid maternity and paternity. We should pass a law requiring 6 months of employer paid maternity and paternity leave. It needs to be mandatory for the woman and the man to leave the workforce for the 6 months. That way there is no discrimination. Women and men are equal.
You know what else is annoying? Having to contribute to paying for the education of children when you yourself can't have kids or choose not to....also, why should I pay for their medical costs if they become ill?
Oh wait.... I forgot that we pay for the education of children even if we are childless because we live in a society. Educating the future generations directly benefits me!
That's an interesting notion indeed! I however was privately educated ... Why should my private school fee paying parents have been forced to subsidize you or any other child? What utter sophistry...and imposing limits on child birth sounds utterly fascist!
But you are actually proving my point exactly. I posit that education, health care and clean drinking water like maternity leave are basic tenets of living in a society. You had argued that because your mother had no maternity cover no one else should dare expect to have it either. I merely suggested that though I didn't attend a state school I am not against the institute of public education (i like tap water too). I am so glad you believe in free education and healthcare for children. But consider, the education of a child begins at birth! As does health care... A mother who can devote adequate time to the nurturing and welfare of her child by virtue of adequate maternity cover is safe guarding her child's future health and well-being. The earliest months of a baby's life are the most critical and vital. How can you agree with the sentiment that "education and healthcare for children" are universal human rights but not maternity leave? (And when you swear you sound like a moron)
Exactly! Maternity leave is for the benefit and health and well-being of the child who "didn't ask to be born." Call it "preschool education" if you like but how are you being fair to the child by denying him time with his mother? And we pay for things as tax payers that have no direct "equivalent benefit" to us all the time.. we pay for the support and care of the elderly who don't have family care-givers. As for your laughable "2 child only policy" (which sounds like the machinations of a totalitarian state) is that because you only grew up with one other sibling? Would you have suggested a three child policy had that been your life experience? So arbitrary and ridiculous!
I am very grateful to live in new jersey and to work at a hospital. I am currently pumping in a comfy chair in a closed, private room with a locked door. I have an ABUNDANCE of rooms just like this one. It is very important that other individuals get this same treatment for America's future adult population. (My first six weeks were paid, but I'm still waiting on the check for the second set of six weeks from FMLA.) America, TAKE CARE OF WORKING MOTHERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
30 years ago in the U.K. as a nurse, I received 12 months paid maternity leave. America is so far behind the world. It is families that have babies. Men and women.
Paid maternity leave is a wonderful idea. As a mother of 3 and a business owner, I have the right to speak on this subject. In order for our country to succeed, we need to invest in human capital - and we need to think long term. All science on the subject says that the human brain is wired during the first years of life (changing the way genes will be expressed and affecting both mental (cognitive and emotional) and physical health. The child continues to develop in response to their environment after they are born in the same way they did prenatally, and this is a CRITICAL period. If we close ourselves off from the creative and constructive potential of half of our population, our businesses (and other sectors) suffer. If we ignore the mandates of human biology and development (which is similar to ignoring gravity), our ability to be competitive into the future suffers. Life has changed dramatically in the last hundred years. In 1910 there were only 10 miles of paved roads in America, most homes did not have running water or electricity, women often had 10-15 children and only a handful of those survived to adulthood. People in the cities worked in factories, but many still lived in rural areas). In the 1940s, we invented suburbs and the concept of the "nuclear family." This coincided with the new highway system and a need for fewer female workers after soldiers returned home from the war. Today, we face different economic and global challenges and have a very different workforce. And as the saying goes - we either evolve or die. We either respond to the dictates of new realities and create systems that meet our basic human needs -- or we deny reality and become irrelevant. However, small business owners should not bear the brunt of paying for the systemic changes that must take place. Creating mechanisms that support healthy families and communities should be a priority for all of us. All sectors (business, non-profits, and government) should work together to ensure the well-being and continued productivity of our citizens.
As a business owner, you may have to pay a female employee for 3 years just for taking care of her 3 babies, while contributing nothing to work. Also, you can't fire her while she's pregnant.
Why should you be so entitled that other people have to pay for your child. Complete joke. If you don't like the fact that you don't get paid when you aren't working. Then don't have a kid.
@@JD-vq7ln Did you receive an education (can you read and write)? Did you ever go to the library? If so, you are not paying for someone else's kid. You are repaying society for the support you were given as a child. Please note that even if your parents paid taxes, it is highly unlikely that they paid enough to cover your education. Rather, it is more like insurance - where everyone pays into the pot to cover expenses for those who need it.
Thank you for this, Jessica. This is such an important issue that has been glossed over (or patently dismissed) by people in power in America for far too long. Can we make sure all of the 2016 presidential candidates see this??
And people in America talk about "FAMILY VALUES"!!!! This is so so pathetically sad. It's no wonder there are so many problems with our young, here in this country. The real issues stem from the top all the way down, because the system is an abject and unscrupulous failure when it comes to caring for posterity.
Are you glad that when you go to a restaurant, there is someone there to take your order? When you get on a plane, are you glad there is a pilot to fly it? When you go to the hospital, are you glad that there are nurses and doctors to take of you? How do you think all those people got there? Answer: they had to be born first - and someone had to raise and educate them. The idea that anyone lives and dies completely alone is ludicrous. It took hundreds of people just to make the computer that I am typing on (from the designer, to the people who made each component, to the truckers, salespeople, and the people who built the store and made the truck and the tires, and so on). Multiply that by other devices and products that we all use (refrigerators, clothing, transportation, entertainment, homes, etc.) The idea that you will be more free in a country where people lack education and basic services is just plain false. None of these things we rely on could exist without investments in human capital. As it is, we all benefit from the educated, socially well adjusted, and mentally healthy doctors, pilots, and even food servers who contribute to the quality of our lives every day. If we are going to play the game of twisted logic (proposed by many in this thread), we might say that the free-loaders would be members of society who enjoy its benefits without spending a penny on human capital, while those who become parents must spend over $300,000 of their personal money to contribute one talented and well-adjusted citizen to society. Only hermits who wear clothing made of moss and live in a cave can make the case that they don't need other people and should not have to contribute to a community that sustains them.
How can Americans still tolerate this? Come on, people, wake up already! And I think it's MEN who need to stand up. Don't they care about their women having all those trouble after giving birth? I can't believe this is even happening in a civilized country! Shame on you for allowing this. There is always a way to fix it but you need to unite.
+Tsu8787 There are ways to fix it without government mandates. It's called preparation and self sacrifice. My girlfriend and I are still undecided about children when we get married but if we did decide to have a child I know for a fact that I would either pick up extra hours at work or look to expand my part time side job. We could also forgo a vacation or two the year before the child arrives, cut back on eating out, and shave our budget to only essentials and bank those savings for when she is on maternity leave. Having a child is supposed to be one of the most if not the most rewarding experience in one's life. If we are ready to commit to that then certainly we can commit to some temporary sacrifices in the short run to have financial security when it matters most.
Well, I live in Europe and me and my wife do have a child. I have no issues paying for other babies just the way that other people pay for my baby. This is called being human. And please don't give me this shit of being forced to pay - in America you basically only pay something if you want to, this is why you are in such a bad spot with health insurances and maternity/sick leaves etc. Your system is depriving you from living a normal human life. Here, for example, we have 20-25 days paid leave + 14 more days bank holidays and no issue to take a sick leave if needed. This gives us space to relax and recover - life isn't all about working, you know. The problem with your mindset is that you only care about acquiring more money and should realize that life isn't about money and you can get by with far less. You should start caring and giving more to others and then you will see that you'll actually get much more in return. And you will also stop being grumpy and cynical, because that's the vibe I get from your comment. P.S. I'm working an average of 8-10 hours a day, sometimes more. Just letting you know as I'm sure I'll be accused of being a lazy filthy liberal :D
See, once again you are being selfish and ignorant, sorry to say that. I'm no leech, dear Robert - I earn a decent living and work 2 jobs, mind you. I pay all my taxes and through that support both myself and people who are in need - such as mothers, for example. I think you have little to no understanding about raising a child and being a mother, especially in the first year after giving birth. Remember, you too were once a child. Would you be happy if your mother was slapped back to work after barely a month of maternity? Do you have an idea what goes on in her body, both biologically and psychologically? No wonder that America has such issues with education, child abuse, mass shootings, obesity and what not. It's just sat that so many children don't get their much needed care and attention and it's even sadder that people like you defend this sickening way of thinking. But I don't blame you, I think you are still too young to realize and just don't know any better. Hopefully you'll learn one day. Wish you all the best and try being more kind, it truly goes a long way :)
Lol, calling people "professional breeders"... Now, please go and show this conversation to your mother or any other woman. Especially your mother. And yes, I do know quite a bit more about what it means to raise a child, both biologically and psychologically, as contrary to you I am raising a family right now. So I speak from experience and you are just quoting someone else, most likely... Finally, ask yourself - do you wish your wife to go back to work within 2-4 weeks (should you not be able to support her fully) and leave your child to someone else? I personally would prefer my wife to enjoy all the benefits of maternity and give everything to our child as it is far more important than anything else. I'm sure you will understand one day that people are more important than a few more bucks in your bank account. And so is time - time is the most important asset. Until then - at least stop insulting people on the internet, it looks childish (see what I did there?).
Satisfy own primal urges? You should seriously swallow your ego and think about what you just wrote there - it's far from intelligent and simply arrogant and rude. Remember where you came from? Correct, you didn't just show up ;) Now, regarding the maternity - a couple of things. First, to address your proposal - I wouldn't mind at all. I'm running my own little busines plus I'm working a standard job with flexible times. Who wouldn't want to have 1 year off? See, the thing is, I don't really care if I have to pay some taxes and thus receive less money if I still have enough to have a normal life - because you only get what you give. And if your wife gets some maternity, then you'll probably appreciate it, right? Or would you tell her to get back to work and stop thinking about her "primal urges"? Second, you have to understand - caring for a baby is VERY demanding, both physically and mentally. Read up a bit, talk to women and then comment. Best of all - be a father. Like it or not, reproduction is the biological meaining and most important purpose in life. Without it, you wouldn't be sitting on your computer and writing comments, for example. I'm fairly positive that you will change your opinion dramatically and realize that there is a reason why women should have their time with their children. Also, you should stop caring so much about businesses - come live in Europe for a while and you'll see that despite some grumpy people moaning about maternity etc., everything is still working out just fine and people are having great lives. Work and private life can be combined beautifully.
What a wonderful speaker -- highlights: 1) "We say that the market will solve this problem and then we cheer when corporations offer even more paid leave to the women who are already the highest-educated and highest-paid among us... there are staggering economic, financial, physical, and emotional costs to this approach", 2) "we need to stop framing this as a mothers' issue or even a women's issue - it's an American issue"
It's sad the way America treats its working mothers. I don't know when this draconian culture will change. God only knows when the laws will be changed and working moms will be able to spend the much needed time with their newborns.
+mahimaanand - if you want to have a baby and then want time off (which is the way it should be), then it is yours and only your responsibility to save for that time. If you can't afford having that time off, then don't get pregnant. I don't want to pay for yours and millions of other mothers (and listening to others, the fathers) taking time off. All the mothers that I know who had babies, took the time off at their own expense, unless they had worked out something with their employer. I don't know you. I don't want to pay for you.
Paid maternity leave is an awful idea! As a mother of 2 and a business owner, I have the right to speak on this subject. Why exactly should a business pay for their employees to take time off? The company didn't knock you up. Then the company has to either suffer minus one employee or hire someone else to replace you while you're out. While still paying you for not working. This will have a very bad end result if this ever goes mandatory. What's going to happen is 1. pregnant women won't get hired. 2. As soon as a company finds out a woman is pregnant they will start looking for ways to fire her. I'll ask again, why should a business pay someone for getting pregnant? If you can't afford to support a child from birth up then you shouldn't be having children. It's that simple.
Jessica E. Trifonov Because it's the right thing to do from a human standpoint. If you see your employees as machines with cost and benefits only... i'd hate to work for your company.
My company does just fine, my employees do their job, I give them money. That's how it works. They are not my friends and they are not my family. This whole next generation is constantly looking for ways to get handouts. If you cannot afford to have children then you should not have children. I am not responsible for your choices. I WILL NOT take away from my children to feed yours. Most companies don't have the money to pay double to cover someone elses choices. The right thing to do would be to say "Can we afford having a child?" Countries are falling apart because of so many people that are in WIC, SNAP, Wellfare, Medicare, food stamps and anything else they can mooch off of the government. This money doesn't come out of thin air. People like myself and my husband who work every freaking day pay that shit in taxes! It's not free money. It comes from somewhere. Holy shit! So people want free college, paid leave to have children, paid hospital bills, free food, free housing. Wtf else do you want? I dammit, do you need someone to spoon feed you? Go to a school you can afford, get a job, pay your own damn bills, pay your own damn medical insurance, have children ONLY when you can afford to have them. It's not that damn hard! I'm not rich and I'm not beautiful but I graduated from a local college and own several businesses. That came from starting at $4.15 an hour with no education. Get over your self.
Nobody at any time should be taxed or stuck paying for someone else's life choices.No one is denying that it is someone's right to have or not have children.It is also someone's right to use their money to support their own family and not others.You want kids,support them yourself.I did.
Jessica Shortall presents a wonderful case for maternity leave but left unsaid is the struggle to find high quality, affordable childcare. Women can't compete in the business world without top quality childcare. As children get older the challenge of summertime vacations makes women unable to fully lean into careers. We need both maternity leave and a reliable childcare system.
+Jean Sweeney Totally agree with you. TED talks really make you focus in on one big idea - 15 minutes is not long enough to cover the breadth of issues in this space!
As a freelancer I didn't have the option of paid maternity leave, and ended up having to give up working for many more months than expected because it made more financial sense than getting daycare. But I anticipated that, while so many women cannot anticipate having medical issues after giving birth and have little to no maternity leave. This needs to be discussed more. We need to insist on paid maternity leave. Fantastic talk, Jessica, thank you.
+Cai Vail If the pay comes from not corporations but government, even freelancers can get their fair share of paid maternity leave. If the government takes over not just paid maternity but also paid paternity leave, the fertility rate will go up.
+Cai Vail I'm a freelancer in Germany and when I have a baby I will get one year of paid maternity leave, each month I will receive two-thirds of what I had each month the year before the birth. It's unbelievable, that there is no paid maternity leave in the US. A shame for your government and US corporations.
Thank you for this! I'm a NYC public school teacher due in 3 weeks with identical twins and won't be getting paid for my maternity leave. I will also lose my insurance after some time, and to cover myself and babies, I will need to pay 300 extra per person for COBRA (extension of insurance.) I will also lose my seniority to other teachers, as I will be considered off payroll. Women i my profession are punished for giving birth to future citizens. The irony of it all is that I teach and essentially help raise other people's kids, and can't get the minimum amount of support for my own.
Thank you, Jessica. I'm horrified by the data you shared and sadden for our country. My husband's employer allowed him 1/4th of the time that he was entitled to when our daughter was born. You'd think that because the State (CA) has laws that employers would comply; turns out there are loop holes in the system. He got the impression that if he didn't agree to just taking 1/4th, he would have been laid off with the other employees during a "restructuring". Our whole family would have lost all of our medical benefits right before I gave birth. Then right before I went on maternity leave my employer had a huge layoff. I was terrified to learn that had I been part of that layoff, I would have lost ALL state benefits AND employer benefits. I had been dedicated to my employer for 10 years. I would have been 9 months pregnant, looking for a job. Even with laws there are still cracks in the system. I wish the law would just protect women of any layoff during pregnancy & leave and also protect fathers from losing their jobs around the time their baby would arrive. Maybe this could be something you talk about next time? Thanks again.
hum while I agree that there should be paid maternity leave and more time for the mothers to attend their baby's needs and for related stuff I do not agree with the idea of people having more than 2 children at all... specially those having economical problems... as these in a great majority will tend to toss the responsibility of caring and educating these babies to 3rd parties... now the world is clearly over crowded... and the current ways to some what deal with these are way more inhumane than having people stick to only 1 baby per couple... with a max of 2 per couple.... if the entire world was to have 1 baby per couple... the 7 billion plus... of people that currently exist would decrease to 1 billion in 7 generations... this is 25 X 7= 175 years... and the ecological disaster that we currently face will be stopped for good... and that is good for all
+Robert Ostman being the ecological problem one and perhaps the most important reason to lower the entire world population... another reason between many would be that is easier to feed and to educate 1 person... lets not forget that the child will have the economical heritage from each parent... so its future is brighter.... there are a ton of reasons to proceed as I have sugested
I definitely don't like the idea that babies are a public good. I'm all for people having kids if they want. But saying that is some kind of public good puts it into some category like roads. Also we regulate public goods for a good reason, we can never allow regulation into the bedroom.
Shame on you America! You are the richest economy in the world yet you can not look after the vulnerable in your society and the future work force and tax payers. Having a baby is a fundamental human right and I'm glad you addressed this issue. I'm from the UK and I have received 9 months paid leave and 3 months unpaid. So I have the option to spend a year with my son! It's fundamental for the mother to bond with her baby and for the baby to receive the love and care he/ she deserves. I thank God for the NHS in England. As a working mother I do not pay for any prescriptions, all maternity appointments are paid and I also receive free dental treatment! I really think America needs to look at how they treat pregnant women and post baby!
+Robert Willis so I should be ashamed because I've birthed and carried a baby for 9 months. I want the best for my baby. Please do not assume I'm a " parasite " because I have a family! I have worked since I was 16 years old contributing to society paying my taxes and NI! I think I've paid a lot more than my statutory maternity pay that I have received for nine months! Being a mother is a full time job and the best and most important job in the world! So we should be compensated for that! It's a job! If your mother and father had your mind set and was self centred like you, You wouldn't exist! Have you ever thought about that? Most women in American and across the world have worked all their lives and ALL we are asking for is for women to be treated humanely! You try being pregnant for 9 months, with the physical and psychological challenges. Going through child birth and facing all the challenges afterwards that comes with being a mother! Get over yourself! This video is about working
+Robert Willis mothers! Who bring up future leaders and the future workforce! Who one day will be looking after your sorry arse in your old age because you will have no children of your own! Please stop making assumptions about my life! How do you know I want loads of children? And if I did my husband and I both work so we will be paying for them! Get over yourself! Having a baby is the best job! Just remember if it wasn't for your mother birthing you, you wouldn't be here! Fact! I bet you thank god your mother was like me and made the " choice" to have you! Otherwise you wouldn't be behind your computer screen putting ridiculous comments on a social forum!
+Robert Willis that makes sense, I work two jobs and the second job I pay a higher tax rate but yet I'm a parasite! That's laughable 😆😆😆Please get your facts right b4 commenting about people's choice to start a family!
This might come off as rude but getting pregnant is a choice. if you are pregnant, hopefully it is with a partner that works. preferably you plan on staying with said partner. lastly you have several months to save money for the time off. someone has to do your job while you are gone and the company needs to pay them. if you can not afford then you might reconsider your career options. this is coming from someone who was a single parent. I did not expect anyone to be responsible for my decision
Completely agree with basically everything stated here! Except she did not address overpopulation... saying that we need to SUSTAIN the amount of humans on the planet today?! Um, no... we need less people, Earth has finite resources. Other than that, she gave a great and compelling speech! Yet another reason I support and love Bernie Sanders! FEEL THE BERN!
+Luna Root Yeah I'm a hard core libertarian so I'm not really feeling the Bern. However, I do agree with you, she DID have me up until women needing to have 2.1 kids to maintain our population. That's a terrible terrible idea. The reason we have all of these pollution problems (global warming, climate change, whatever you want to call it) in the world in the first place is because we are ALREADY overpopulating our planet, So for that reason, I fully support De-incentivizing women having more children. Furthermore, the reason 2 parent family households HAVE to have 2 working parents in the first place is because taxes are so damn high. I believe if you REALLY want to advocate for women's ability to bond with their child and properly recover after child birth then get rid of all the state imposed economic and general social pressures. Encourage 2 parent households by drastically reducing welfare spending. In my opinion, a woman can ONLY make the claim " I don't need a man to raise my child" if she also DOES NOT accept any form of welfare benefits, other wise she does need a man, and his name is the taxpayer. Additionally lower taxes by cutting military spending, prison spending and slowly phasing out social security and medicare. Once our tax dollars ONLY pay for government, courts, emergency services and national defense, households will be able to run on one income again. Public Education is handled by states and infrastructure is handled by gasoline taxes. Regarding social pressures. If feminists and society as a whole stopped vilifying stay at home moms for whatever reason then I believe women in general wouldn't feel the need to have a career to achieve self-worth. Also, if a woman is a breadwinner in a household, we as a society need to take away the stigma that a man is less masculine if he chooses to be the one to stay home. My compromise: 1. Have FMLA kick in immediately upon a woman's employment and 2. Make all businesses provide short term disability insurance that employees can pay in to so they can be compensated in some way while they are gone without having to cut in to sick or vacation days. 3. Boycott, protest and publicly shame/condemn companies that DO NOT provide paid family leave at the companies expense 4. Glorify, Praise and "word of mouth" advertise and provide tax incentives for companies that DO provide Paid Family Leave for their employees at the businesses expense 5. Provide tax incentives for and generally encourage companies who have programs in place where coworkers can donate sick and vacation days for fellow employees who have children or other family emergencies. Running to government is almost never the answer. I will concede abolishing slavery and women's suffrage. Letting the "free market" and society as a whole fix those social issues wold have taken too long.
What exactly justifies procreation as being neccesary? It seems sort of optional. If someone planned ahead, like we did with our kids, judged the financial aspect of it, a lot of the issues here wouldn't be so damning. These stories sound like the women didn't want to have the children in the first place. Of course work should allow some flexibility when it comes to medicical but what is an affordable middle ground?
+Granite And yet 87% of California businesses (where there is a paid leave law) report no increased costs. 99% report increase in employee morale. And small and medium businesses report more positive outcome than big businesses in the state. www.nationalpartnership.org/research-library/work-family/paid-leave/paid-leave-good-for-business.pdf
You do know PFL comes from the their SDI aka the Californian tax payer? The state which mandates the highest income tax and yet is up there on the debt chart. Anyhow, if it was an affordable plan and the employers weren't suffering it would be a great idea. So what programs are you going to cut to allow it to happen? Perhaps pipeline some money from useless government programs instead.
+Granite Nice point but how many married couples in the age of safe procreation and with enought money to take maybe 3 months of absence with a young child are there? diapers, milk, milk pumpers, safety locks, furniture and the money to have daycare service after this 3 months, besides the money for future education that needs to be saved as soon or even before the baby is born, all before the age of 40 where pregnancy is much more dangerous, if all families would wait until they were rich to have babies probably only socialites would have them.
"10:58 There's a little club of countries in the world that offer no national paid leave to new mothers. Care to guess who they are? The first eight make up eight million in total population. They are Papua New Guinea, Suriname and the tiny island nations of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau and Tonga. " May I suggest that you check your data again. Suriname has paid maternity leave. Have your fellow Peace Corps workers look up the data and get back to you.
I was hoping she would have showed more of a case for her cause, other than tugging on the heart strings of people. Also her line of no exceptions, seems ridiculous. My grandma had 9 kid within 15 years, why would an employer spend over two years salary on a employee who is not working, On top of hiring someone for all the work that had to be done be because she was not there. She had a platform to make a statement about why it is beneficial to us and all she could come up with was we need more people.
I am in complete disagreement with any kind of mandatory parental paid leave. Whether it is the government or your employer people who pay there taxes and work the full year are forced to be taxed or paid less, because when the company makes cuts for employees it cones out of the other employees pockets. No one can explain to why this should be mandatory?
“It’s a moral problem” No, that’s the obvious result of having a child and going to work. Careers abd children take time and energy, which is limited, so inevitably you must choose one. And I have a very hard time understanding how paying salary to workers on leave would in any way boost the economy, plan your life better
@@penny4thought168 This is America. The only places that follow EEOC laws are large corporations & gov't jobs. Everywhere else isn't so enlightened. As a small business owner {where over 47% of employees work}; why on Earth would I promote a woman to a crucial role if she can just up and take 6 - 12 months off on paid leave AND pay her the same as a man??? Oh yeah, the person I get to cover for her has to be willing to get out after she comes back! are you kidding me? Reality doesn't give AF about your feelings.
@@simplyincorrigible7708 The IS is the only industrial country without a paid leave policy. Paid leave is a great benefit that will help everyone hire workers for the future. A lot of employees base their final decision to work on that. If you can't afford to supply your employees with any paid leave, including sick and maternity, then maybe you shouldn't have so many employees. The people that work for you aren't cogs in a machine deigned solely for your benefit. They're living, breathing people with actual lives outside of their job.
Having Children is not a right. If women want families, they can have them... on... their... own... time. It is never ever your boss's responsibility to give you special time off and unpaid vacation time above your max just because you decided to have a child on company time.
Oh come on! Don’t be that idealistic !!! It’s dose not working around the world just like you said in all post sssr countries material live pay is so small and only at government jobs. Private business same as here.
Procreation is indeed optional. Women don't have to have babies. I don't HAVE to get a woman pregnant. My wife is not going to have children- she doesn't WANT children. Please name the law that she's breaking by not getting pregnant. There are adoptions available- look into it, women. Adopt children- not babies. They'll be faster and require less vacation.
Who told you to have a child. As a small business owner why should I have to pay for your leave and then on top of that hire another worker to cover for you. How is that fair.
I'm on my 8th successful birth where's my very first child 16 years ago I was back to work 2 weeks after his birth after working up until the day before he was born I found out I had postpartum depression and PTSD it's very difficult the support that's the lagging and as you call it low income Holmes is atrocious for women who get severely ill during the pregnancy still having to support a family have no support themselves and then the people complain about the product that's been made in the more stressful situation with each of my last for pregnancy test I was on birth control the NuvaRing the patch the Mirena prophylactics and yet I still got pregnant even though I was told I couldn't get pregnant so it's funny to me that people see how many children I have and the fact that I'm unmarried now because I just got divorced why do you have so many children but don't we meeting people for our society things happen as they should happen
European countries that have paid maternity leave have lower proportion of women in positions of power than in US. It's not a coincidence. Paid maternity leave hampers women's professional careers.
Why should people pay for another womens baby. Pay for your own kid. Paid maternity leave is a joke. If you decide to have a kid then you stop working while you look after it. If you don't like it, then adopt or don't have one.
I'm sorry. I understand that this is a serious topic but she's wearing a tasbeeh I can't Omg. THAT'S A RELIGIOUS OBJECT THAT WE USE TO PRAY Lmao it's not a necklace
I don't know why but i'm not convinced. Firstly, I don't think childbirth is a public good. Say's who? More importantly, I still believe that this is exclusively a women's/mothers issue. For a real american issue, I need look no further than the dismal state of our educational system or the growing inequality among the rich and the poor. Something that crosses the gender divide evenly. Part of my ambivalence on this issue, is probably because of my demographic. I'm a single male without paternal experience, and I'm simply unmoved by any of her appeals to sympathize with a new mother on the basis that it will effect the rearing of future generations. Pathos failed. Logically though, it does makes sense. I have long held the belief that mothers are probably the most intellectually advanced group of us all (given the burden of childbirth and history of being disadvantaged by men for it and other things, mothers have an uncanny ability to overcome outstanding adversity). Overall, I remain pretty ambivalent about the situation, and without any emotional investment in the movement it's not something I'd personally lend my scarce resources to furthering. Of course unless someone can convince me otherwise...
+MrKlik101 you're blinded by your lack of empathy. You recognize that you don't agree because of your specific demographic, and yet you do not even try to understand the issue from a different point of view. It is not simply a women's/mother issue unless it is a single parent, and even then, it involves the child and their future and their future contributions to society (be it good or bad). This is what makes it an American issue: because it is greatly and negatively impacting the future generation of the United States. Childbirth is a common good for this reason too - you do not get to exclusively keep your child, they go out into society and make contributions that affect everyone. Only those in privileged positions receive paid maternity leave, ensuring their children will grow up privileged, and ensuring the lower class individuals stay lower class individuals, and even causing middle-class family's to fall close to or blow the poverty line. This will only perpetuate the national poverty crisis, which especially affects minorities, and therefore perpetuating inequality between classes and races of people.
+Kaysee Donathan I think you're absolutely right Kaysee, I am absolutely and utterly blinded to understanding the full breadth of this situation due to my lack of empathy. I need to empathize. But I don't. I simply don't care. And I think a majority of [single] men will agree with me. A dangerous demographic to alienate for any cause. That is why I think if this cause is going to find reasonable success in the competitive economy of issues fighting for attention today, your first approach is to make men [like me] feel something. I still don't think your nor shortall's logical appeals to claiming childbirth as a public good stands firm. The correlation is loose at best. In fact, I think it's odd to quantify it as such, both economically and morally speaking. Firstly, I think a majority of women might agree that the reason they choose[when they do actually choose] to have kids has absolutely nothing to the economic good it does. There is a deeper moral reason for why women have children. For many women, having a baby is an essential piece of the experience of life. That's why perceiving childbirth in terms of an economic good is a slippery slope to travel down. It almost certainly leads to the devaluation of the real instinctive moral reasons why women have children. It is a poor argument to make for the sake of an argument, leading to the quantification of life in terms of dollars and cents. Economically speaking it doesn't make sense either. If childbirth was an economic good then we should expect that countries like Mexico and China [with high rates of childbirth] to have the most good then right? And while there is no argument from me that it certainly does lead to a larger labor pool, I will argue that the quality of each individual life is not so good. I simply don't see this issue to be of the same magnitude as other issues [like education] in America, issues that have the potential to promote a greater amount of good for a greater number of people. I recant my previous claim saying that this isn't an american issue because it most certainly is; seeing that most other developed nations already provide such a service. However, having taken a moment longer [ thanks kaysee ;) ] I think my issue is I'm focused on a bigger picture making it hard for me to refocus and connect with this one. Metaphorically speaking, I hear Shortall saying something like, "We need to extinguish the fire in the babies room cause the crib is starting to catch fire!" And I'm over here like "Well yea, that maybe true, but the staircase has been burning bright for some time, and we haven't been upstairs for years!" Metaphorically speaking of course[i think in images]... I think the biggest problem for this cause is it has a narrow target audience: and that is mothers. It doesn't effect men who don't think, won't effect women who don't want babies, and loosely ties everyone together with a vague idea that by helping a small population[working mothers] we'll all reap the benefits of the investment sometime in the future. But as Shortall knows, America treats its youth like shit anyway. At least until they rich military age or get a job. In the end, I'm all for the idea. I'm happy to see women fighting for things like this, its all a part of the emergence of equality. However, in a world where consciousness is synonymous with capital, I'm bankrupt here until I get the feels for something...
Silly. No employer wants to pay you for NOT providing a service to them. No taxpayer wants to pay you for your service of having kids. People are confused about where tax money comes from...Think you'd be fine with someone in your area showing up and demanding you pay for them to stay home and raise their own kid? Taxes are just an organized form of the same thing....not including the overhead of running it through govt.
Would your society not be bettered by women better raising their kids so less of them are on welfare when they're of age? I mean, I'm typically a conservative, but I'm not so much of an idiot to not realize that it's much cheaper to make sure a kid grows up well rather than end up being poor and underdeveloped when they get older because they couldn't be raised by their parents instead of having to be dropped off at daycare because mom can't afford to do otherwise. That, and for women that are forced to quit their jobs, our economy would probably be stronger if more women could work instead of being fired for deciding to make another american child. Maybe we should let Lesotho and Papua New Guinea be the only two countries that don't have paid maternal leave. We are supposed to be the best country in the world, right?
TheGeorgiaGent Are you completely self sufficient? Do you do your own surgery on your own body, have your own cell service, clean your own teeth, grow your own food, make your own electricity? NO!? You depend on a society to help you with those things? Yes you pay for those services but they are people that deliver them. People who take pride in that work to deliver that service to you....Do you know how people get that way? Parents and caregivers.
A pregnant women’s pay should be divided up equally and given to those who have to pull her weight when she’s absent. She’s a burden to those around her.
Paid maternity leave is an awful idea! As a mother of 2 and a business owner, I have the right to speak on this subject. Why exactly should a business pay for their employees to take time off? The company didn't knock you up. Then the company has to either suffer minus one employee or hire someone else to replace you while you're out. While still paying you for not working. This will have a very bad end result if this ever goes mandatory. What's going to happen is 1. pregnant women won't get hired. 2. As soon as a company finds out a woman is pregnant they will start looking for ways to fire her. I'll ask again, why should a business pay someone for getting pregnant? If you can't afford to support a child from birth up then you shouldn't be having children. It's that simple. I don't think my children should suffer and go without because I'm being forced to pay for an employee who is not doing the job I hired her for.
Did you not listen to the entire message? You're missing HUGE points. She says STATE subsidized. Look at the map at 11:30, I'm assuming you didn't make it that far. Look at all the countries that make it work, that have strong economies despite offering paid leave. AS A MOTHER you should be an advocate for the bonding time with your children, you should be an advocate for other mothers not only having the opportunity but actually feeling encouraged to take some time off and bond and care for their newborns. Did you not listen to the statistics? Suicide, anxiety, and depression. Major problems when mothers have to immediately go back to work because what other option did they have?
I think you're missing MY point. Most certainly parents should be ably to take time off to spend with their children. I actually had panic attacks when leaving my first daughter with a very good friend when she was young. But my point was to be financially stable to do so. State subsidies may as well be called welfare. If you don't have the financial means to care for a child properly, including taking time off to bond, then you shouldn't be getting pregnant in the first place. This falls again under the same as food stamps and public assistance. Birth control is readily available to all.
Maybe you're just a shitty business owner. Perhaps if you give two fucks about your employees and create a good relationship with them, they would return from leave and profit your company later on. Sure, your business would suffer in the short run, but in the long run you would have loyal employees who will enjoy their job and opportunities with you as their employer, and in return produce profit in the long run. History & research support this.
24 years of restaurant and hotel experience says differently. Maybe you're just a shitty employee that wants more than you're worth. I've hired plenty of pregnant women and worked with others. It always ends with a much bigger loss than gain. This would work with bigger companies but not things like restaurants that only keep the amount of people they need. Did you even read what I said? I'm not paying for others choices. And if you can't afford to have and and raise a child without me paying your way then you shouldn't be getting pregnant. If by some chance you have a bad habit of falling on top of a guy and "accidentally" getting pregnant then I would suggest you work on your balancing skills. Off the clock, preferably. LOL Annie Kaminski
Thank you for the inspiring talk. I am a physician and get no paid maternity leave after six weeks. This is blasphemy. We need to get more women fighting for each other and equality in the workplace.
Thats because your employer hired you to be a physician. Not a mommy. As an employer. I am paying YOU to work.. If you dont walk in that door. You don't get a paycheck. If you dont fill that spot and take alot of time off or just don't show up. We are letting you go. See it from my point of view. If you buy that burger at Mc Dees and they never hand it to you. That is an un-rendered service and you would be mad. Now see it from my point of view. I need someone to fill that position to hand out burgers after taking money. If that person leaves and I am still to pay them, even though they are not there. Same thing. Yes. same thing.
You’re getting paid to do a job. No one owes you special treatment because you chose to have kids. I say this as a mom myself. If you’re giving more time to an employer than your new baby then that is BACKWARDS.
You did an amazing job on this talk Jessica. Thank you for speaking for the women in America who have been brushed under the rug.
This is a shocking situation. I am Australian and 18wks pregnant with my first baby. So far I have not paid $1 for any tests or appointments. I will not pay anything to give birth. The government will give me minimum wage for 3 months because, unusually, my company doesn't offer any paid leave. They will, however, keep my job open for 2 years while I care for and bond with my tiny little helpless baby. I feel so lucky. Although, as you said, this is the norm for all of the developed world... except one. Australia and England aren't commies. We pay tax and get benefits. And our economies have not crashed.
mmm ppp truthful actually
Robert Willis Parents having supportive resources to raise productive members of societies are good for all even those who don't have children. When you're old and need healthcare in a hospital, someone will have raised the nurse and doctor that cares for you, etc. Unless of course you are a nihilist who wants the human race to end, then your comment is logically sound.
Sophie Smith how much taxes do you psy
If a company can run without you for two years, it means you are easily replaceable.
I think the problem with this discussion, as with many others, comes down to greed and capitalism. A lot of Americans/corporations are only worried about themselves. "Why do MY tax dollars need to go to you having a baby?" or "Why am I supposed to pay for someone to not work?". The answer to both of those questions are because it's the right thing to do. Mothers are not looking for handouts. Mothers are asking for additional time to bond with their child, the most important time there is with a child. And, as stated in the video, they aren't allowed to do that because of the financial burden it puts on their family. This isn't the 1940s anymore. Men aren't always the bread winners and most families live off two incomes. When you take away one of those incomes, what do you expect to happen? "Well then they should set aside money before having the baby." OK and how realistic is that? Not only saving enough money to cover the ever increasing costs of having the baby in the first place (and whatever medical complications that could come with) but also 6-12 months of income. Really? If that were the case, no one would have babies.
My wife and I had our first child last year and her employer provided paid leave. My employer also gave me two weeks, which is rare. And because my wife had a C-section, she couldn't hardly walk and she absolutely was forbidden to drive. So I drove her to doctor appts and helped out with numerous other things that she was to weak to do because she was still recovering. Had I not been there or even worse had she been forced back to work in her condition, I don't want to imagine how that would have worked out.
Why are my tax dollars going to these Hurricane victims? They chose to live in Houston and Florida where their chances of flooding and hurricanes are much higher. Maybe they should have thought about that before buying a house there. Not my problem. Stop expecting handouts from the government for YOUR poor residential decisions.
^^^^ Do you hear how heartless that sounds? The sad thing about the US is how we've labeled fellow Americans as leeches or sponges or parasites when we should be looking at them as if they were a mirror. Treat people with dignity and compassion as if they were you.
Yes, "it's the right thing to do" is a sound moral argument. But, the government shouldn't be enforcing moral laws. "Moral Arguments" are subject. Enforcing what you're advocating for on a wide scale might have bad consequences for women long-term. Employers might start discriminating and stop hiring women.
@@tchief3619 These systems have been implemeneted in almost every other industrailized nation and the latter hasn't occurred.
Countries that have paid maternity leave have rules where the employer cannot fire the women for going on leave and of her position is abolished during her leave theres rules for that too, cant remember tho
i decided to do a report on this for a class but didn’t realize how heartbreaking this topic is :’) now i’m crying
Thank you for the inspiring talk. I am a physician and get no paid maternity leave after six weeks. This is blasphemy. We need to get more women fighting for each other and equality in the workplace.
All of it is just heartbreaking. You are so right on every level.
Spot on. Thank you for taking the initiative to get this out there on TED.
The US government, business sector, and society in general has so much motivation to invest in the nation's next generation, at minimum to care for and protect the current and aging generation. What better way to invest than in policies such as adequate paid maternity and paternity leave. Paid leave contributes to healthier parents, healthier children, and as a result, a more vibrant economy and society. What would this conversation look like if men were charged with pregnancy, childbirth and recovery. Thank you for this powerful, timely and important video.
Well done Jessica! Thank you for speaking up for moms and babies. I believe your words will make a difference.
Thank you for speaking out for us! I wonder what percentage of the 12% of women who have paid maternity leave, have jobs/wages that would make it easier to take unpaid leave. I know I had no paid leave, and we scrambled to make it through what little time I did take. We need to create change in this broken system. Thank you for sharing these strong, scary, depressing facts!
just like an university education having children should be the financial responsibility of the parents and not society. if you cant afford the kid then save until you can. i agree moms should have flexible work hours but paying someone who isnt at work the same as those having to cover her shift isn't equality . its actually the oppose. equal pay for unequal work the very same discrimination women are campaigning against .
ive experienced it first hand. its extremely stressful especially in small business of 10 or less ppl for coworkers to cover someones shift for 4 months ,the only scenario this works is in big companies like google and amazon were they have 100s to 1000s of workers so the void can be easily covered .
we need a better solution than just giving a person massive time off paid. some people will even abuse this and likely get pregnant every year .
@@craigclermond8001I couldn't agree more. Well said. Money doesn't come out of thin air. Someone has to pay.
@@PersonOfBook companies can pay for it. it can come out of their yacht funds. and for small companies? if you cant afford paid leave for employees then save until you can.
@@krakowski_6237THIS!! If you can’t afford to take care of your employees, choose a new career path.
Thank you, Jessica, for such an incredible presentation. I appreciate your opening about the pictures we see of 'working mothers' on the internet and how unrealistic the pictures are. In addition, I was deeply saddened by the stories you told of women having to return back to work soon after giving birth. As you stated, "Childbirth is, and will always be, an enormous psychological event" and with that being said, I agree that the US should provide paid leave to all working parents.
Thank you so much for this. No one understands the pain of having a child and having to go back to work and your babies food source is attached to your body!
You obviously wasn't loved as a child.
Said by the person who started the personal shaming tactics.
Cry me a River!
OK, Thanks. Goodbye!
Actually I know people who felt the pain of working 12-15 hours a day for a couple years prior to having their children for the mother to be out of work for an extended period of time. Why should others have to work more and sacrifice more for you to have kids? This whole notion that the only choice mothers have is to go back to work right after giving birth to be able to get by financially is ludicrous. Choices could have been made years prior to a pregnancy to budget and/or work more to put money aside for an extended leave from work. It's funny how many people want businesses to pay the salary of someone for an extended time when they are not at work. How would you like it if your cable company said they were going to stop providing you service for up to 6 months but you still had to pay them?
It's time for change! Mothers and fathers should have paid leave and affordable child care.
hi I have question . I'm from Philippines and my fiance is from united states in auburn and I'm pregnant right now. is it possible that he can use his maternity leave overseas? here in Philippines ? thanks for the reply
Would this extend to people needing cancer treatment/dialysis/major life-saving surgery? That's what your tax money (to fund research) and your insurance money go toward. Unless you are paying a la carte for your medical needs.
Or just move to the country where your most awesome neighbors to the north are :)
No they shouldn’t. No one is responsible for someone else’s child, the child’s parents are.
In the US, if you are an educated woman with a professional job; you will not get paid anything, or any financial assistance with daycare. If you are educated and work full time, the only way you can take time to have a baby is if you have either family member who is willing to take care of your child, or if you have a spouse who can support you. Daycare can not be paid for by a single mother. In the US, most daycare if MORE than a mortgage. People don't understand that right now, the main women in the US who are having chidren, are not highly educated, do not have professional jobs, and are mostly on benefits; and that is because they are the only ones who CAN have a child and do not have to worry about daycare. Most of them qualify for subsidized daycare, and if you are not working, you have *nothing* to lose. US Govt is not realizing what type of "next generation" they are actually creating if most of the children in our next generation (not all) are coming from severely undereducated parents who are not in the work force. Only a small percentage of children have two parents who both can together pay for the daycare.
In Canada, they get a year of paid-leave and mother's and dad's can split that together to have 6 months each, or any way they want to split it.
That's false, its whoever files for the leave. So if dad files he chooses. Fathers in Quebec get 5 weeks and then can share the rest. Most choose not to take more time because they care for there significant other
We need mandatory paid maternity and paternity. We should pass a law requiring 6 months of employer paid maternity and paternity leave. It needs to be mandatory for the woman and the man to leave the workforce for the 6 months. That way there is no discrimination. Women and men are equal.
You know what else is annoying? Having to contribute to paying for the education of children when you yourself can't have kids or choose not to....also, why should I pay for their medical costs if they become ill?
Oh wait.... I forgot that we pay for the education of children even if we are childless because we live in a society. Educating the future generations directly benefits me!
That's an interesting notion indeed! I however was privately educated ... Why should my private school fee paying parents have been forced to subsidize you or any other child? What utter sophistry...and imposing limits on child birth sounds utterly fascist!
But you are actually proving my point exactly. I posit that education, health care and clean drinking water like maternity leave are basic tenets of living in a society. You had argued that because your mother had no maternity cover no one else should dare expect to have it either. I merely suggested that though I didn't attend a state school I am not against the institute of public education (i like tap water too). I am so glad you believe in free education and healthcare for children. But consider, the education of a child begins at birth!
As does health care... A mother who can devote adequate time to the nurturing and welfare of her child by virtue of adequate maternity cover is safe guarding her child's future health and well-being. The earliest months of a baby's life are the most critical and vital. How can you agree with the sentiment that "education and healthcare for children" are universal human rights but not maternity leave? (And when you swear you sound like a moron)
Exactly! Maternity leave is for the benefit and health and well-being of the child who "didn't ask to be born." Call it "preschool education" if you like but how are you being fair to the child by denying him time with his mother?
And we pay for things as tax payers that have no direct "equivalent benefit" to us all the time.. we pay for the support and care of the elderly who don't have family care-givers.
As for your laughable "2 child only policy" (which sounds like the machinations of a totalitarian state) is that because you only grew up with one other sibling? Would you have suggested a three child policy had that been your life experience? So arbitrary and ridiculous!
I am very grateful to live in new jersey and to work at a hospital. I am currently pumping in a comfy chair in a closed, private room with a locked door. I have an ABUNDANCE of rooms just like this one. It is very important that other individuals get this same treatment for America's future adult population.
(My first six weeks were paid, but I'm still waiting on the check for the second set of six weeks from FMLA.)
America, TAKE CARE OF WORKING MOTHERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
30 years ago in the U.K. as a nurse, I received 12 months paid maternity leave. America is so far behind the world. It is families that have babies. Men and women.
12 months paid maternity leave? Gtfoh. That is ridiculous.
@@matthewrutters6842 no. Just a civilised country that values families
@@courgette3401 who paid for it?
@@juniorqindes8335 Probably the company.
Paid maternity leave is a wonderful idea. As a mother of 3 and a business owner, I have the right to speak on this subject. In order for our country to succeed, we need to invest in human capital - and we need to think long term. All science on the subject says that the human brain is wired during the first years of life (changing the way genes will be expressed and affecting both mental (cognitive and emotional) and physical health. The child continues to develop in response to their environment after they are born in the same way they did prenatally, and this is a CRITICAL period.
If we close ourselves off from the creative and constructive potential of half of our population, our businesses (and other sectors) suffer. If we ignore the mandates of human biology and development (which is similar to ignoring gravity), our ability to be competitive into the future suffers.
Life has changed dramatically in the last hundred years. In 1910 there were only 10 miles of paved roads in America, most homes did not have running water or electricity, women often had 10-15 children and only a handful of those survived to adulthood. People in the cities worked in factories, but many still lived in rural areas). In the 1940s, we invented suburbs and the concept of the "nuclear family." This coincided with the new highway system and a need for fewer female workers after soldiers returned home from the war. Today, we face different economic and global challenges and have a very different workforce. And as the saying goes - we either evolve or die. We either respond to the dictates of new realities and create systems that meet our basic human needs -- or we deny reality and become irrelevant.
However, small business owners should not bear the brunt of paying for the systemic changes that must take place. Creating mechanisms that support healthy families and communities should be a priority for all of us. All sectors (business, non-profits, and government) should work together to ensure the well-being and continued productivity of our citizens.
As a business owner, you may have to pay a female employee for 3 years just for taking care of her 3 babies, while contributing nothing to work.
Also, you can't fire her while she's pregnant.
What you say, is that your are proud to live from others. I hope you will be glad if everybody start to do the same by you
Why should you be so entitled that other people have to pay for your child. Complete joke. If you don't like the fact that you don't get paid when you aren't working. Then don't have a kid.
@@JD-vq7ln Did you receive an education (can you read and write)? Did you ever go to the library? If so, you are not paying for someone else's kid. You are repaying society for the support you were given as a child.
Please note that even if your parents paid taxes, it is highly unlikely that they paid enough to cover your education. Rather, it is more like insurance - where everyone pays into the pot to cover expenses for those who need it.
Wonderful idea for you but not those who have to work extra in your absence.
Even after 7 years of posting this video, its still the same situation.
If it feels wrong it is wrong...it is heartbreaking to have to return to work and take an infant to day care. This shouldnt have to happen.
I want to cry right now.
Thank you for this, Jessica. This is such an important issue that has been glossed over (or patently dismissed) by people in power in America for far too long. Can we make sure all of the 2016 presidential candidates see this??
+Katie Kopp If you follow Bernie Sanders, you already have it. berniesanders.com/issues/fighting-for-womens-rights/
And people in America talk about "FAMILY VALUES"!!!! This is so so pathetically sad.
It's no wonder there are so many problems with our young, here in this country. The real issues stem from the top all the way down, because the system is an abject and unscrupulous failure when it comes to caring for posterity.
Are you glad that when you go to a restaurant, there is someone there to take your order? When you get on a plane, are you glad there is a pilot to fly it? When you go to the hospital, are you glad that there are nurses and doctors to take of you?
How do you think all those people got there?
Answer: they had to be born first - and someone had to raise and educate them.
The idea that anyone lives and dies completely alone is ludicrous. It took hundreds of people just to make the computer that I am typing on (from the designer, to the people who made each component, to the truckers, salespeople, and the people who built the store and made the truck and the tires, and so on). Multiply that by other devices and products that we all use (refrigerators, clothing, transportation, entertainment, homes, etc.) The idea that you will be more free in a country where people lack education and basic services is just plain false. None of these things we rely on could exist without investments in human capital. As it is, we all benefit from the educated, socially well adjusted, and mentally healthy doctors, pilots, and even food servers who contribute to the quality of our lives every day.
If we are going to play the game of twisted logic (proposed by many in this thread), we might say that the free-loaders would be members of society who enjoy its benefits without spending a penny on human capital, while those who become parents must spend over $300,000 of their personal money to contribute one talented and well-adjusted citizen to society.
Only hermits who wear clothing made of moss and live in a cave can make the case that they don't need other people and should not have to contribute to a community that sustains them.
How can Americans still tolerate this? Come on, people, wake up already! And I think it's MEN who need to stand up. Don't they care about their women having all those trouble after giving birth? I can't believe this is even happening in a civilized country! Shame on you for allowing this. There is always a way to fix it but you need to unite.
+Tsu8787
There are ways to fix it without government mandates. It's called preparation and self sacrifice. My girlfriend and I are still undecided about children when we get married but if we did decide to have a child I know for a fact that I would either pick up extra hours at work or look to expand my part time side job. We could also forgo a vacation or two the year before the child arrives, cut back on eating out, and shave our budget to only essentials and bank those savings for when she is on maternity leave. Having a child is supposed to be one of the most if not the most rewarding experience in one's life. If we are ready to commit to that then certainly we can commit to some temporary sacrifices in the short run to have financial security when it matters most.
Well, I live in Europe and me and my wife do have a child. I have no issues paying for other babies just the way that other people pay for my baby. This is called being human. And please don't give me this shit of being forced to pay - in America you basically only pay something if you want to, this is why you are in such a bad spot with health insurances and maternity/sick leaves etc. Your system is depriving you from living a normal human life. Here, for example, we have 20-25 days paid leave + 14 more days bank holidays and no issue to take a sick leave if needed. This gives us space to relax and recover - life isn't all about working, you know. The problem with your mindset is that you only care about acquiring more money and should realize that life isn't about money and you can get by with far less. You should start caring and giving more to others and then you will see that you'll actually get much more in return. And you will also stop being grumpy and cynical, because that's the vibe I get from your comment.
P.S. I'm working an average of 8-10 hours a day, sometimes more. Just letting you know as I'm sure I'll be accused of being a lazy filthy liberal :D
See, once again you are being selfish and ignorant, sorry to say that. I'm no leech, dear Robert - I earn a decent living and work 2 jobs, mind you. I pay all my taxes and through that support both myself and people who are in need - such as mothers, for example. I think you have little to no understanding about raising a child and being a mother, especially in the first year after giving birth. Remember, you too were once a child. Would you be happy if your mother was slapped back to work after barely a month of maternity? Do you have an idea what goes on in her body, both biologically and psychologically? No wonder that America has such issues with education, child abuse, mass shootings, obesity and what not. It's just sat that so many children don't get their much needed care and attention and it's even sadder that people like you defend this sickening way of thinking. But I don't blame you, I think you are still too young to realize and just don't know any better. Hopefully you'll learn one day. Wish you all the best and try being more kind, it truly goes a long way :)
Lol, calling people "professional breeders"... Now, please go and show this conversation to your mother or any other woman. Especially your mother. And yes, I do know quite a bit more about what it means to raise a child, both biologically and psychologically, as contrary to you I am raising a family right now. So I speak from experience and you are just quoting someone else, most likely... Finally, ask yourself - do you wish your wife to go back to work within 2-4 weeks (should you not be able to support her fully) and leave your child to someone else? I personally would prefer my wife to enjoy all the benefits of maternity and give everything to our child as it is far more important than anything else. I'm sure you will understand one day that people are more important than a few more bucks in your bank account. And so is time - time is the most important asset. Until then - at least stop insulting people on the internet, it looks childish (see what I did there?).
Satisfy own primal urges? You should seriously swallow your ego and think about what you just wrote there - it's far from intelligent and simply arrogant and rude. Remember where you came from? Correct, you didn't just show up ;) Now, regarding the maternity - a couple of things. First, to address your proposal - I wouldn't mind at all. I'm running my own little busines plus I'm working a standard job with flexible times. Who wouldn't want to have 1 year off? See, the thing is, I don't really care if I have to pay some taxes and thus receive less money if I still have enough to have a normal life - because you only get what you give. And if your wife gets some maternity, then you'll probably appreciate it, right? Or would you tell her to get back to work and stop thinking about her "primal urges"? Second, you have to understand - caring for a baby is VERY demanding, both physically and mentally. Read up a bit, talk to women and then comment. Best of all - be a father. Like it or not, reproduction is the biological meaining and most important purpose in life. Without it, you wouldn't be sitting on your computer and writing comments, for example. I'm fairly positive that you will change your opinion dramatically and realize that there is a reason why women should have their time with their children. Also, you should stop caring so much about businesses - come live in Europe for a while and you'll see that despite some grumpy people moaning about maternity etc., everything is still working out just fine and people are having great lives. Work and private life can be combined beautifully.
What a wonderful speaker -- highlights: 1) "We say that the market will solve this problem and then we cheer when corporations offer even more paid leave to the women who are already the highest-educated and highest-paid among us... there are staggering economic, financial, physical, and emotional costs to this approach", 2) "we need to stop framing this as a mothers' issue or even a women's issue - it's an American issue"
It's sad the way America treats its working mothers. I don't know when this draconian culture will change. God only knows when the laws will be changed and working moms will be able to spend the much needed time with their newborns.
+mahimaanand - if you want to have a baby and then want time off (which is the way it should be), then it is yours and only your responsibility to save for that time. If you can't afford having that time off, then don't get pregnant. I don't want to pay for yours and millions of other mothers (and listening to others, the fathers) taking time off. All the mothers that I know who had babies, took the time off at their own expense, unless they had worked out something with their employer. I don't know you. I don't want to pay for you.
Wait, there isn't paid maternity leave in the US? O_o The fuck?
+Bruni only about 12% of companies, and those that offer it include it as part of "benefit packages" meant to entice high paid executives
+Talon3000 not for the average working mother, no , $0
Paid maternity leave is an awful idea! As a mother of 2 and a business
owner, I have the right to speak on this subject. Why exactly should a
business pay for their employees to take time off? The company didn't
knock you up. Then the company has to either suffer minus one employee
or hire someone else to replace you while you're out. While still paying
you for not working. This will have a very bad end result if this ever
goes mandatory. What's going to happen is 1. pregnant women won't get
hired. 2. As soon as a company finds out a woman is pregnant they will
start looking for ways to fire her. I'll ask again, why should a
business pay someone for getting pregnant? If you can't afford to
support a child from birth up then you shouldn't be having children.
It's that simple.
Jessica E. Trifonov
Because it's the right thing to do from a human standpoint.
If you see your employees as machines with cost and benefits only... i'd hate to work for your company.
My company does just fine, my employees do their job, I give them money. That's how it works. They are not my friends and they are not my family. This whole next generation is constantly looking for ways to get handouts. If you cannot afford to have children then you should not have children. I am not responsible for your choices. I WILL NOT take away from my children to feed yours. Most companies don't have the money to pay double to cover someone elses choices. The right thing to do would be to say "Can we afford having a child?" Countries are falling apart because of so many people that are in WIC, SNAP, Wellfare, Medicare, food stamps and anything else they can mooch off of the government. This money doesn't come out of thin air. People like myself and my husband who work every freaking day pay that shit in taxes! It's not free money. It comes from somewhere. Holy shit! So people want free college, paid leave to have children, paid hospital bills, free food, free housing. Wtf else do you want? I dammit, do you need someone to spoon feed you? Go to a school you can afford, get a job, pay your own damn bills, pay your own damn medical insurance, have children ONLY when you can afford to have them. It's not that damn hard! I'm not rich and I'm not beautiful but I graduated from a local college and own several businesses. That came from starting at $4.15 an hour with no education. Get over your self.
That is so sad. Shame on Usa!
Nobody at any time should be taxed or stuck paying for someone else's life choices.No one is denying that it is someone's right to have or not have children.It is also someone's right to use their money to support their own family and not others.You want kids,support them yourself.I did.
Jessica Shortall presents a wonderful case for maternity leave but left unsaid is the struggle to find high quality, affordable childcare. Women can't compete in the business world without top quality childcare. As children get older the challenge of summertime vacations makes women unable to fully lean into careers. We need both maternity leave and a reliable childcare system.
+Jean Sweeney Totally agree with you. TED talks really make you focus in on one big idea - 15 minutes is not long enough to cover the breadth of issues in this space!
Thank you for such great insight to our plight as brand new moms!
Brilliant presentation! This absolutely needs to change!
Mothers should not have to pump milk. They should be home with their babies breastfeeding naturally.
How does Robert Willis have so much time to answer everyone's comments..
As a freelancer I didn't have the option of paid maternity leave, and ended up having to give up working for many more months than expected because it made more financial sense than getting daycare. But I anticipated that, while so many women cannot anticipate having medical issues after giving birth and have little to no maternity leave. This needs to be discussed more. We need to insist on paid maternity leave. Fantastic talk, Jessica, thank you.
+Cai Vail If the pay comes from not corporations but government, even freelancers can get their fair share of paid maternity leave. If the government takes over not just paid maternity but also paid paternity leave, the fertility rate will go up.
+Cai Vail I'm a freelancer in Germany and when I have a baby I will get one year of paid maternity leave, each month I will receive two-thirds of what I had each month the year before the birth. It's unbelievable, that there is no paid maternity leave in the US. A shame for your government and US corporations.
If men had to carry, birth, and breastfeed babies we'd have paid leave in the US for at least a year.
Well done!! It is about time!!
We need paid parental leave!
We need paid parental leave!
We need paid parental leave!
We need paid parental leave!
No, we dont
Just move from US
Thank you for this! I'm a NYC public school teacher due in 3 weeks with identical twins and won't be getting paid for my maternity leave. I will also lose my insurance after some time, and to cover myself and babies, I will need to pay 300 extra per person for COBRA (extension of insurance.) I will also lose my seniority to other teachers, as I will be considered off payroll. Women i my profession are punished for giving birth to future citizens. The irony of it all is that I teach and essentially help raise other people's kids, and can't get the minimum amount of support for my own.
It isn’t your sole job to restock the population. Don’t expect extra pay or preferential treatment from an employer just because you have kids.
I cannot believe this video is NOT at millions of views.
Thank you, Jessica. I'm horrified by the data you shared and sadden for our country. My husband's employer allowed him 1/4th of the time that he was entitled to when our daughter was born. You'd think that because the State (CA) has laws that employers would comply; turns out there are loop holes in the system. He got the impression that if he didn't agree to just taking 1/4th, he would have been laid off with the other employees during a "restructuring". Our whole family would have lost all of our medical benefits right before I gave birth. Then right before I went on maternity leave my employer had a huge layoff. I was terrified to learn that had I been part of that layoff, I would have lost ALL state benefits AND employer benefits. I had been dedicated to my employer for 10 years. I would have been 9 months pregnant, looking for a job. Even with laws there are still cracks in the system. I wish the law would just protect women of any layoff during pregnancy & leave and also protect fathers from losing their jobs around the time their baby would arrive. Maybe this could be something you talk about next time? Thanks again.
hum while I agree that there should be paid maternity leave and more time for the mothers to attend their baby's needs and for related stuff I do not agree with the idea of people having more than 2 children at all... specially those having economical problems... as these in a great majority will tend to toss the responsibility of caring and educating these babies to 3rd parties... now the world is clearly over crowded... and the current ways to some what deal with these are way more inhumane than having people stick to only 1 baby per couple... with a max of 2 per couple.... if the entire world was to have 1 baby per couple... the 7 billion plus... of people that currently exist would decrease to 1 billion in 7 generations... this is 25 X 7= 175 years... and the ecological disaster that we currently face will be stopped for good... and that is good for all
+Robert Ostman being the ecological problem one and perhaps the most important reason to lower the entire world population... another reason between many would be that is easier to feed and to educate 1 person... lets not forget that the child will have the economical heritage from each parent... so its future is brighter.... there are a ton of reasons to proceed as I have sugested
I definitely don't like the idea that babies are a public good. I'm all for people having kids if they want. But saying that is some kind of public good puts it into some category like roads. Also we regulate public goods for a good reason, we can never allow regulation into the bedroom.
Thank you. It's about time for a change!
5 years since this was posted and nothing has changed.
Shame on you America! You are the richest economy in the world yet you can not look after the vulnerable in your society and the future work force and tax payers. Having a baby is a fundamental human right and I'm glad you addressed this issue. I'm from the UK and I have received 9 months paid leave and 3 months unpaid. So I have the option to spend a year with my son! It's fundamental for the mother to bond with her baby and for the baby to receive the love and care he/ she deserves.
I thank God for the NHS in England. As a working mother I do not pay for any prescriptions, all maternity appointments are paid and I also receive free dental treatment! I really think America needs to look at how they treat pregnant women and post baby!
+Robert Willis so I should be ashamed because I've birthed and carried a baby for 9 months. I want the best for my baby. Please do not assume I'm a " parasite " because I have a family! I have worked since I was 16 years old contributing to society paying my taxes and NI! I think I've paid a lot more than my statutory maternity pay that I have received for nine months! Being a mother is a full time job and the best and most important job in the world! So we should be compensated for that! It's a job! If your mother and father had your mind set and was self centred like you, You wouldn't exist! Have you ever thought about that? Most women in American and across the world have worked all their lives and ALL we are asking for is for women to be treated humanely! You try being pregnant for 9 months, with the physical and psychological challenges. Going through child birth and facing all the challenges afterwards that comes with being a mother! Get over yourself! This video is about working
+Robert Willis mothers! Who bring up future leaders and the future workforce! Who one day will be looking after your sorry arse in your old age because you will have no children of your own! Please stop making assumptions about my life! How do you know I want loads of children? And if I did my husband and I both work so we will be paying for them! Get over yourself! Having a baby is the best job! Just remember if it wasn't for your mother birthing you, you wouldn't be here! Fact! I bet you thank god your mother was like me and made the " choice" to have you! Otherwise you wouldn't be behind your computer screen putting ridiculous comments on a social forum!
+Robert Willis that makes sense, I work two jobs and the second job I pay a higher tax rate but yet I'm a parasite! That's laughable 😆😆😆Please get your facts right b4 commenting about people's choice to start a family!
+Robert Willis I did pay for me leave due to the fact that I pay two lots of tax! Fact!
Laurettabeauty4ever we have that here in America too.Its called the welfare system!
This has horrified me. It is 4 years old , I so hope it is better now
Sighh unfortunately not 😅
I support paid breastfeeding in the office.
This might come off as rude but getting pregnant is a choice. if you are pregnant, hopefully it is with a partner that works. preferably you plan on staying with said partner. lastly you have several months to save money for the time off. someone has to do your job while you are gone and the company needs to pay them. if you can not afford then you might reconsider your career options. this is coming from someone who was a single parent. I did not expect anyone to be responsible for my decision
Completely agree with basically everything stated here! Except she did not address overpopulation... saying that we need to SUSTAIN the amount of humans on the planet today?! Um, no... we need less people, Earth has finite resources. Other than that, she gave a great and compelling speech! Yet another reason I support and love Bernie Sanders! FEEL THE BERN!
+Luna Root Yeah I'm a hard core libertarian so I'm not really feeling the Bern. However, I do agree with you, she DID have me up until women needing to have 2.1 kids to maintain our population. That's a terrible terrible idea. The reason we have all of these pollution problems (global warming, climate change, whatever you want to call it) in the world in the first place is because we are ALREADY overpopulating our planet, So for that reason, I fully support De-incentivizing women having more children. Furthermore, the reason 2 parent family households HAVE to have 2 working parents in the first place is because taxes are so damn high. I believe if you REALLY want to advocate for women's ability to bond with their child and properly recover after child birth then get rid of all the state imposed economic and general social pressures. Encourage 2 parent households by drastically reducing welfare spending. In my opinion, a woman can ONLY make the claim " I don't need a man to raise my child" if she also DOES NOT accept any form of welfare benefits, other wise she does need a man, and his name is the taxpayer. Additionally lower taxes by cutting military spending, prison spending and slowly phasing out social security and medicare. Once our tax dollars ONLY pay for government, courts, emergency services and national defense, households will be able to run on one income again. Public Education is handled by states and infrastructure is handled by gasoline taxes.
Regarding social pressures. If feminists and society as a whole stopped vilifying stay at home moms for whatever reason then I believe women in general wouldn't feel the need to have a career to achieve self-worth. Also, if a woman is a breadwinner in a household, we as a society need to take away the stigma that a man is less masculine if he chooses to be the one to stay home.
My compromise:
1. Have FMLA kick in immediately upon a woman's employment and
2. Make all businesses provide short term disability insurance that employees can pay in to so they can be compensated in some way while they are gone without having to cut in to sick or vacation days.
3. Boycott, protest and publicly shame/condemn companies that DO NOT provide paid family leave at the companies expense
4. Glorify, Praise and "word of mouth" advertise and provide tax incentives for companies that DO provide Paid Family Leave for their employees at the businesses expense
5. Provide tax incentives for and generally encourage companies who have programs in place where coworkers can donate sick and vacation days for fellow employees who have children or other family emergencies.
Running to government is almost never the answer. I will concede abolishing slavery and women's suffrage. Letting the "free market" and society as a whole fix those social issues wold have taken too long.
What exactly justifies procreation as being neccesary? It seems sort of optional. If someone planned ahead, like we did with our kids, judged the financial aspect of it, a lot of the issues here wouldn't be so damning. These stories sound like the women didn't want to have the children in the first place. Of course work should allow some flexibility when it comes to medicical but what is an affordable middle ground?
***** If you look at this from a small business side, three months paid leave would really cut deep.
+Granite And yet 87% of California businesses (where there is a paid leave law) report no increased costs. 99% report increase in employee morale. And small and medium businesses report more positive outcome than big businesses in the state. www.nationalpartnership.org/research-library/work-family/paid-leave/paid-leave-good-for-business.pdf
You do know PFL comes from the their SDI aka the Californian tax payer? The state which mandates the highest income tax and yet is up there on the debt chart. Anyhow, if it was an affordable plan and the employers weren't suffering it would be a great idea. So what programs are you going to cut to allow it to happen? Perhaps pipeline some money from useless government programs instead.
+Granite I'd cut our outrageous military spending.
+Granite Nice point but how many married couples in the age of safe procreation and with enought money to take maybe 3 months of absence with a young child are there? diapers, milk, milk pumpers, safety locks, furniture and the money to have daycare service after this 3 months, besides the money for future education that needs to be saved as soon or even before the baby is born, all before the age of 40 where pregnancy is much more dangerous, if all families would wait until they were rich to have babies probably only socialites would have them.
"10:58
There's a little club of countries in the world that offer no national paid leave to new mothers. Care to guess who they are? The first eight make up eight million in total population. They are Papua New Guinea, Suriname and the tiny island nations of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau and Tonga. "
May I suggest that you check your data again. Suriname has paid maternity leave.
Have your fellow Peace Corps workers look up the data and get back to you.
I was hoping she would have showed more of a case for her cause, other than tugging on the heart strings of people. Also her line of no exceptions, seems ridiculous. My grandma had 9 kid within 15 years, why would an employer spend over two years salary on a employee who is not working, On top of hiring someone for all the work that had to be done be because she was not there. She had a platform to make a statement about why it is beneficial to us and all she could come up with was we need more people.
Merica
I am in complete disagreement with any kind of mandatory parental paid leave. Whether it is the government or your employer people who pay there taxes and work the full year are forced to be taxed or paid less, because when the company makes cuts for employees it cones out of the other employees pockets. No one can explain to why this should be mandatory?
“It’s a moral problem”
No, that’s the obvious result of having a child and going to work. Careers abd children take time and energy, which is limited, so inevitably you must choose one.
And I have a very hard time understanding how paying salary to workers on leave would in any way boost the economy, plan your life better
Forcing everyone to subsidize maternity leave is a horrible idea. It takes away free choice and personal responsibility.
I’m not from the USA but I greatly admire the stance on no paid maternity or paternity leave. Why should your boss pay you for spawning?
Someone didnt watch the whole video.
How to make sure child bearing women are selected last & never promoted to important roles.
Funny, I don't see that in other countries who have paid maternity leave.
@@penny4thought168 This is America. The only places that follow EEOC laws are large corporations & gov't jobs. Everywhere else isn't so enlightened.
As a small business owner {where over 47% of employees work}; why on Earth would I promote a woman to a crucial role if she can just up and take 6 - 12 months off on paid leave AND pay her the same as a man??? Oh yeah, the person I get to cover for her has to be willing to get out after she comes back! are you kidding me?
Reality doesn't give AF about your feelings.
@@simplyincorrigible7708 The IS is the only industrial country without a paid leave policy. Paid leave is a great benefit that will help everyone hire workers for the future. A lot of employees base their final decision to work on that.
If you can't afford to supply your employees with any paid leave, including sick and maternity, then maybe you shouldn't have so many employees. The people that work for you aren't cogs in a machine deigned solely for your benefit. They're living, breathing people with actual lives outside of their job.
@@penny4thought168 This is America. Following the rest of the world isn't exactly something most of us give a damn about.
Having Children is not a right. If women want families, they can have them... on... their... own... time. It is never ever your boss's responsibility to give you special time off and unpaid vacation time above your max just because you decided to have a child on company time.
Oh come on! Don’t be that idealistic !!! It’s dose not working around the world just like you said in all post sssr countries material live pay is so small and only at government jobs. Private business same as here.
Procreation is indeed optional. Women don't have to have babies. I don't HAVE to get a woman pregnant. My wife is not going to have children- she doesn't WANT children. Please name the law that she's breaking by not getting pregnant. There are adoptions available- look into it, women. Adopt children- not babies. They'll be faster and require less vacation.
Oh my God, did Robert Willis troll this site, or what?
Who told you to have a child. As a small business owner why should I have to pay for your leave and then on top of that hire another worker to cover for you. How is that fair.
What a whiny and poor planning business owner you are
I'm on my 8th successful birth where's my very first child 16 years ago I was back to work 2 weeks after his birth after working up until the day before he was born I found out I had postpartum depression and PTSD it's very difficult the support that's the lagging and as you call it low income Holmes is atrocious for women who get severely ill during the pregnancy still having to support a family have no support themselves and then the people complain about the product that's been made in the more stressful situation with each of my last for pregnancy test I was on birth control the NuvaRing the patch the Mirena prophylactics and yet I still got pregnant even though I was told I couldn't get pregnant so it's funny to me that people see how many children I have and the fact that I'm unmarried now because I just got divorced why do you have so many children but don't we meeting people for our society things happen as they should happen
Psyborg 0009 well thanks for your opinion. Eye was married there father and eye traded off so thanks alot
European countries that have paid maternity leave have lower proportion of women in positions of power than in US. It's not a coincidence. Paid maternity leave hampers women's professional careers.
Could you link your sources?
@@penny4thought168 they don't have any because they lied
@@ezra5514 I know. It's just funny to ask them to site proof and them never replying.
Why should people pay for another womens baby. Pay for your own kid. Paid maternity leave is a joke. If you decide to have a kid then you stop working while you look after it. If you don't like it, then adopt or don't have one.
I'm sorry. I understand that this is a serious topic but she's wearing a tasbeeh I can't Omg. THAT'S A RELIGIOUS OBJECT THAT WE USE TO PRAY Lmao it's not a necklace
Paid maternity leave will make it harder for women to get a job.
I don't know why but i'm not convinced. Firstly, I don't think childbirth is a public good. Say's who? More importantly, I still believe that this is exclusively a women's/mothers issue. For a real american issue, I need look no further than the dismal state of our educational system or the growing inequality among the rich and the poor. Something that crosses the gender divide evenly. Part of my ambivalence on this issue, is probably because of my demographic. I'm a single male without paternal experience, and I'm simply unmoved by any of her appeals to sympathize with a new mother on the basis that it will effect the rearing of future generations. Pathos failed.
Logically though, it does makes sense. I have long held the belief that mothers are probably the most intellectually advanced group of us all (given the burden of childbirth and history of being disadvantaged by men for it and other things, mothers have an uncanny ability to overcome outstanding adversity). Overall, I remain pretty ambivalent about the situation, and without any emotional investment in the movement it's not something I'd personally lend my scarce resources to furthering. Of course unless someone can convince me otherwise...
+MrKlik101 you're blinded by your lack of empathy. You recognize that you don't agree because of your specific demographic, and yet you do not even try to understand the issue from a different point of view. It is not simply a women's/mother issue unless it is a single parent, and even then, it involves the child and their future and their future contributions to society (be it good or bad). This is what makes it an American issue: because it is greatly and negatively impacting the future generation of the United States. Childbirth is a common good for this reason too - you do not get to exclusively keep your child, they go out into society and make contributions that affect everyone. Only those in privileged positions receive paid maternity leave, ensuring their children will grow up privileged, and ensuring the lower class individuals stay lower class individuals, and even causing middle-class family's to fall close to or blow the poverty line. This will only perpetuate the national poverty crisis, which especially affects minorities, and therefore perpetuating inequality between classes and races of people.
+Kaysee Donathan I think you're absolutely right Kaysee, I am absolutely and utterly blinded to understanding the full breadth of this situation due to my lack of empathy. I need to empathize. But I don't. I simply don't care. And I think a majority of [single] men will agree with me. A dangerous demographic to alienate for any cause. That is why I think if this cause is going to find reasonable success in the competitive economy of issues fighting for attention today, your first approach is to make men [like me] feel something.
I still don't think your nor shortall's logical appeals to claiming childbirth as a public good stands firm. The correlation is loose at best. In fact, I think it's odd to quantify it as such, both economically and morally speaking. Firstly, I think a majority of women might agree that the reason they choose[when they do actually choose] to have kids has absolutely nothing to the economic good it does. There is a deeper moral reason for why women have children. For many women, having a baby is an essential piece of the experience of life. That's why perceiving childbirth in terms of an economic good is a slippery slope to travel down. It almost certainly leads to the devaluation of the real instinctive moral reasons why women have children. It is a poor argument to make for the sake of an argument, leading to the quantification of life in terms of dollars and cents.
Economically speaking it doesn't make sense either. If childbirth was an economic good then we should expect that countries like Mexico and China [with high rates of childbirth] to have the most good then right? And while there is no argument from me that it certainly does lead to a larger labor pool, I will argue that the quality of each individual life is not so good.
I simply don't see this issue to be of the same magnitude as other issues [like education] in America, issues that have the potential to promote a greater amount of good for a greater number of people. I recant my previous claim saying that this isn't an american issue because it most certainly is; seeing that most other developed nations already provide such a service. However, having taken a moment longer [ thanks kaysee ;) ] I think my issue is I'm focused on a bigger picture making it hard for me to refocus and connect with this one. Metaphorically speaking, I hear Shortall saying something like, "We need to extinguish the fire in the babies room cause the crib is starting to catch fire!" And I'm over here like "Well yea, that maybe true, but the staircase has been burning bright for some time, and we haven't been upstairs for years!" Metaphorically speaking of course[i think in images]...
I think the biggest problem for this cause is it has a narrow target audience: and that is mothers. It doesn't effect men who don't think, won't effect women who don't want babies, and loosely ties everyone together with a vague idea that by helping a small population[working mothers] we'll all reap the benefits of the investment sometime in the future. But as Shortall knows, America treats its youth like shit anyway. At least until they rich military age or get a job. In the end, I'm all for the idea. I'm happy to see women fighting for things like this, its all a part of the emergence of equality. However, in a world where consciousness is synonymous with capital, I'm bankrupt here until I get the feels for something...
Silly. No employer wants to pay you for NOT providing a service to them. No taxpayer wants to pay you for your service of having kids. People are confused about where tax money comes from...Think you'd be fine with someone in your area showing up and demanding you pay for them to stay home and raise their own kid? Taxes are just an organized form of the same thing....not including the overhead of running it through govt.
Sounds nice but its not happening its the price of living in America you have to work in order to survive.
Single white male. No wife. No kids. I'm the last one entitled to the fruits of my labor. Wow.
Would your society not be bettered by women better raising their kids so less of them are on welfare when they're of age? I mean, I'm typically a conservative, but I'm not so much of an idiot to not realize that it's much cheaper to make sure a kid grows up well rather than end up being poor and underdeveloped when they get older because they couldn't be raised by their parents instead of having to be dropped off at daycare because mom can't afford to do otherwise. That, and for women that are forced to quit their jobs, our economy would probably be stronger if more women could work instead of being fired for deciding to make another american child.
Maybe we should let Lesotho and Papua New Guinea be the only two countries that don't have paid maternal leave. We are supposed to be the best country in the world, right?
Your single for a Reason
TheGeorgiaGent Are you completely self sufficient? Do you do your own surgery on your own body, have your own cell service, clean your own teeth, grow your own food, make your own electricity? NO!? You depend on a society to help you with those things? Yes you pay for those services but they are people that deliver them. People who take pride in that work to deliver that service to you....Do you know how people get that way? Parents and caregivers.
Don’t get pregnant unless you can care for your baby at home full time. If you’re relying on maternity leave then you’re irresponsible.
Capitalism sc-m.
A pregnant women’s pay should be divided up equally and given to those who have to pull her weight when she’s absent. She’s a burden to those around her.
Do you also believe your mother was a burden to society for having you?
I don't believe in paid leave
that's what fathers are for
@@darla3106 Artificial Intelligence through Robotics will do all the "badly paid" jobs.
1st
Paid maternity leave is an awful idea! As a mother of 2 and a business
owner, I have the right to speak on this subject. Why exactly should a
business pay for their employees to take time off? The company didn't
knock you up. Then the company has to either suffer minus one employee
or hire someone else to replace you while you're out. While still paying
you for not working. This will have a very bad end result if this ever
goes mandatory. What's going to happen is 1. pregnant women won't get
hired. 2. As soon as a company finds out a woman is pregnant they will
start looking for ways to fire her. I'll ask again, why should a
business pay someone for getting pregnant? If you can't afford to
support a child from birth up then you shouldn't be having children.
It's that simple. I don't think my children should suffer and go without because I'm being forced to pay for an employee who is not doing the job I hired her for.
amen amen amen 100 percent true its even more ridiculous when they give the man maturnity leave its silly and so not fair
Did you not listen to the entire message? You're missing HUGE points. She says STATE subsidized. Look at the map at 11:30, I'm assuming you didn't make it that far. Look at all the countries that make it work, that have strong economies despite offering paid leave. AS A MOTHER you should be an advocate for the bonding time with your children, you should be an advocate for other mothers not only having the opportunity but actually feeling encouraged to take some time off and bond and care for their newborns. Did you not listen to the statistics? Suicide, anxiety, and depression. Major problems when mothers have to immediately go back to work because what other option did they have?
I think you're missing MY point. Most certainly parents should be ably to take time off to spend with their children. I actually had panic attacks when leaving my first daughter with a very good friend when she was young. But my point was to be financially stable to do so. State subsidies may as well be called welfare. If you don't have the financial means to care for a child properly, including taking time off to bond, then you shouldn't be getting pregnant in the first place. This falls again under the same as food stamps and public assistance. Birth control is readily available to all.
Maybe you're just a shitty business owner. Perhaps if you give two fucks about your employees and create a good relationship with them, they would return from leave and profit your company later on. Sure, your business would suffer in the short run, but in the long run you would have loyal employees who will enjoy their job and opportunities with you as their employer, and in return produce profit in the long run. History & research support this.
24 years of restaurant and hotel experience says differently. Maybe you're just a shitty employee that wants more than you're worth. I've hired plenty of pregnant women and worked with others. It always ends with a much bigger loss than gain. This would work with bigger companies but not things like restaurants that only keep the amount of people they need. Did you even read what I said? I'm not paying for others choices. And if you can't afford to have and and raise a child without me paying your way then you shouldn't be getting pregnant. If by some chance you have a bad habit of falling on top of a guy and "accidentally" getting pregnant then I would suggest you work on your balancing skills. Off the clock, preferably. LOL Annie Kaminski
Thank you for the inspiring talk. I am a physician and get no paid maternity leave after six weeks. This is blasphemy. We need to get more women fighting for each other and equality in the workplace.
Thats because your employer hired you to be a physician. Not a mommy. As an employer. I am paying YOU to work.. If you dont walk in that door. You don't get a paycheck. If you dont fill that spot and take alot of time off or just don't show up. We are letting you go. See it from my point of view. If you buy that burger at Mc Dees and they never hand it to you. That is an un-rendered service and you would be mad. Now see it from my point of view. I need someone to fill that position to hand out burgers after taking money. If that person leaves and I am still to pay them, even though they are not there. Same thing. Yes. same thing.
You’re getting paid to do a job. No one owes you special treatment because you chose to have kids.
I say this as a mom myself. If you’re giving more time to an employer than your new baby then that is BACKWARDS.