The United States is the only industrialized nation in the world without a federal paid family leave mandate.
While 13 states and Washington D.C. have some state-funded paid leave, it’s largely up to employers to determine what workers receive.
The state of paid leave in this country has significant disparities because of it.
While some people have access to generous paid leave policies, the vast majority are left without even a single paid day off for life-changing events like the birth of a child or a family illness.
Despite the clear benefits of paid leave for both employees and businesses, progress at the national level has been slow, leaving millions of Americans without financial means to take time off in the moments they need it the most.
We spoke to Orli Cotel, a parental leave expert and advocate for family-friendly policies, to unpack why we need paid family leave in the United States and what it’ll take to pass it.