While the United States lags behind other countries when it comes to paid parental leave, there’s a chance that the situation will change under President-elect Donald Trump.

On the campaign trail, Trump laid out his plans to institute six weeks of paid maternity leave only when companies do not offer leave by making changes to existing unemployment insurance. His campaign said this will not lead to raising taxes and the program would be paid by “offsetting reductions” in the insurance program.

Maternity or paternity leave is offered for employees who will be mothers or fathers, respectively, during the period of a birth or adoption, whereas parental leave can usually be obtained following maternal or parental leave, per The Pew Research Center.

At Syracuse University, tenured and tenure-track faculty are eligible to receive parental leave, but non-tenure track faculty are not.

The U.S. is the only country among 41 states that does not have a mandate from national government for paid leave for new parents, per The Pew Research Center. Estonia, meanwhile, offers 87 weeks worth of paid leave. The paid family leave described in the data includes maternity leave, paternity leave and parental leave.

Kristi Andersen, a professor emerita of political science in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, said in an email she is glad Trump has raised this issue but added that his policy approach in child-rearing is “a rather old-fashioned and individualistic view.” She pointed out that Trump’s plan does not cover fathers, contrary to the trend that more fathers are investing their time in child-rearing.

Fathers have over the years begun to invest more time on childcare: In 1965, fathers spent 2.5 hours on average per week as opposed to seven hours in 2011, according to The Pew Research Center. After California implemented paid family leave, the odds of men taking parental leave more than doubled, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

“(Trump) still seems to see child care and child rearing as solely the responsibility of the parents,” Andersen said. “(There was) no discussion (as in Hillary Clinton’s campaign) of universal pre-school, support for higher wages for child-care providers, or federal support for programs like parent education which have been shown to improve kids’ outcomes.”

Jeffrey Hayes, program director of job quality and income security at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, said paternity leave is less common than maternity leave globally.

“It’s hard to get men to take it, even when it is offered, there’s also cultural bias against it or something that men take … very little leave,” he said.

But he added paternal leave is slowly growing as countries such as Canada are exploring ways to encourage men to take more leave, and surveys show millennial men demonstrate more positive attitudes in being involved in childcare.

The institute’s report from 2014 suggests even though paid leave programs temporarily pose replacement costs or overtime paid to existing employees, benefits of the program make workers more likely to come back to their workforce after childbirth and reduce costs for employers in the long-run.

Under the current SU policy, a full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty member who becomes a parent by childbirth or adopting a child younger than 7 years old is eligible to receive parental leave. The benefits include a decreased workload up to 50 percent in a semester — including exempting one course — or up to six to eight weeks of exemption from work, according to the SU policies website. If combined with maternity leave, a female full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty can receive full pay.

While serving as a provost at West Virginia University, now-SU Vice Chancellor and Provost Michele Wheatly extended the parental and medical leave policies to non-tenure track faculty. Wheatly said in a statement to The Daily Orange that there isn’t penalty for taking a leave of absence and encouraged those who seek the benefits to consult with the Office of Human Resources and their department chairs and deans regarding teaching, research and advising responsibilities.

She did not say whether she’s planning to expand the benefit to non-tenure track faculty at SU. Wheatly also avoided commenting on Trump’s plan but noted the university will continue to monitor changes.

“The University strives to adopt and administer policies that support new parents in their career trajectory while also appreciating what a joyous and life-altering experience it is to welcome a new child into a family,” she said.

Published on December 1, 2016 at 12:04 am

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