Paternity Leave: For Him, Her, and Them The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, instituted by President Bill Clinton, established that companies are required to give at least 12 weeks of unpaid leave to new mothers. Over twenty years later, and there are no laws or acts that benefit new fathers in the workforce. While tradition has always been an influence in the way of life, traditions do change often and most usually to the benefit of the citizens. There was a time in history when tradition was that women stayed at home, but traditions have changed to the point where there is a woman in the presidential campaign. Not only did the tradition of women working change benefit women, but it benefitted all of the citizens. Traditions are being …show more content…
Some states have already started implementing these newly found rights of paternity leave into their businesses, “...in 2002, California became the first U.S. state to guarantee six weeks of paid leave for mothers and fathers alike, financed by a small payroll-tax contribution from eligible workers. Since then, New Jersey and Rhode Island have followed suit with 12 and 13 paid weeks, respectively, while other states are taking steps toward similar policies.” (Mundy 15). The first steps to changing tradition are important, but like many great changes, it must come with controversy. Surrounding co-workers are more likely to view a fellow man who takes time off for paternity leave as unacceptable and undeserving of his job position (Hall 1). As time progresses, many more people are becoming less close-minded, and open to new changes in society. Therefore, initiative is needed to be taken by men to start taking the time off when offered and put it to good use. Once change is started, it is impossible to put …show more content…
Paternity leave “...has been shown to boost male participation in the household, enhance female participation in the labor force, and promote gender equity in both domains. (Mundy 16)” based on other countries statistics. Not only have couples who have made use of paternity leave felt more equal, some have found that the men were more comfortable being a fulltime household dad, and the women were not. (Sinor 6). Gender equality is not both of the couple doing the same amount of work, but encouraging both to have the same opportunity. Therefore, giving the man and the woman the opportunity to have leave from work give each of them a chance to decide if either of them would like to stay at home, or let them decide how they will both go back to work. The equal parental leaves gives no pressure to either parent to become a household