Is Parental Leave Fair?
The US has been maligned as the only western democracy that
does not have mandatory parental leave. I say so what? Having children is a
choice. I understand that a woman needs time to recover, however, her and her
spouse should plan to have maximum personal time off built up so they can take
it.
Someone has to do the
work while she’s away. What do you tell
a person who does not have any children? Do you say “ you get to help pick up
her workload, oh and by the way you don’t get any more personal days off, we
only allow that for parents.” How fair is that?
If it is truly best for the child to have a parent full-time,
then the couple should make the tough choice and have one there full time, not for
six weeks or three months but full-time. That may sound harsh, but the whole
argument for paid personal leave is that is best for the child and parents. I
agree, I just don’t believe it is a responsibility of business or the
government. It is not a societal issue but one between the parents. If a
business wants to make a policy that all employees get six weeks extra time off
to do as they please and that is okay.
You don’t get rewarded because you choose to have children
and you don’t get punished because you don’t.
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