Changing perceptions of gender are challenging our understanding of parental roles.
By taking a deeper look at the needs of working families through a gender-inclusive lens, policymakers have an opportunity to help all parents better balance work and caring for their families.
Gaps in parental leave policy
While companies are beginning to offer gender-neutral paid parental leave, these benefits are based on an understanding of who qualifies as a parent or caregiver that vary depending on federal, state, and company-specific definitions, and benefits are not widely offered equally to employees of all genders.
Many companies have parental leave policies that distinguish between primary and secondary caregivers. Sometimes, these policies designate birth mothers as the default primary caregiver, while the other parent is presumed to be the secondary caregiver and gets little to no parental leave time. It is of course reasonable that a person who gives birth should receive both medical and parental leave; it is also reasonable that both parents should receive an equal amount of parental leave, as both parents share equal responsibility for raising children. An equitable approach to parental leave helps address structural inequalities that many women face in their careers after having children.
Men are also harmed by gender stereotypes that prevent them from taking advantage of parental leave benefits to avoid workplace stigma and loss of income. Recent class action lawsuits filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission bring attention to how these policies violate discrimination laws by providing unequal benefits along gender lines.
Unequal parental leave benefits also affect transgender and non-binary parents who don’t fit into binary gender stereotypes. In 2018, the Human Rights Commission surveyed a large group of people who identify as transgender or non-binary about their ability to access leave. Only 39% of survey respondents said that their employer’s policies cover new parents of all genders equally, and just 38% said that their employers’ policies are equally inclusive of the many ways families can welcome a child – including childbirth, adoption or foster care.
Opportunities for gender-inclusive policy
The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 is a federal law that requires businesses with 50 or more employees to provide 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave to eligible employees for qualified family or medical reasons – including child birth, newborn care within one year of birth, and care for an adopted or foster child within one year of placement. The Department of Labor has clarified that all employees regardless of gender can take leave under the FMLA to care for a child for whom the employee is serving as a parent, even if there is not a legal or biological relationship to the child. But even though FMLA offers protection for gender-diverse parents, it falls far short of a lot of families’ needs because it is unpaid, only covers full-time employees, and is only available to larger employers.
A growing number of states have started to offer paid parental leave, but factors vary from state to state – including who is covered, how much leave they are eligible for, what percent of wages are replaced, and how the program is funded. For states that have decided to offer gender-neutral paid parental leave, the benefits include a more engaged workforce; a competitive edge in attracting, recruiting, and retaining talent; improved public health; and even measurable impacts on GDP.
With a patchwork of different policies in play across the United States, policymakers who understand how changing perceptions of gender intersect with growing demand for paid parental leave will be in the best position to improve the lives of working families and parents across the gender spectrum.