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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/commentisfree/2017/dec/12/how-better-parental-leave-can-reduce-sexual-harassment-at-work
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| One way to tackle sexual harassment at work: better parental leave | |
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| While the gruesome details vary – massages in hotel rooms, the button under the desk, men literally just showing their penises in the office – every #MeToo story has something in common: powerful men working in industries with very few women in top leadership positions. | While the gruesome details vary – massages in hotel rooms, the button under the desk, men literally just showing their penises in the office – every #MeToo story has something in common: powerful men working in industries with very few women in top leadership positions. |
| As the #MeToo conversation begins to turn towards solutions, we need to implement policies that address the barriers to women leading. While women and men launch careers in equal numbers, starting at around 30 their upward trajectories to leadership start to seriously and increasingly diverge, with women falling behind and men moving ahead. There are, of course, many confluent factors – bias, rampant harassment, lack of mentorship – that contribute to this widening gap, but one stands out: caregiving. | As the #MeToo conversation begins to turn towards solutions, we need to implement policies that address the barriers to women leading. While women and men launch careers in equal numbers, starting at around 30 their upward trajectories to leadership start to seriously and increasingly diverge, with women falling behind and men moving ahead. There are, of course, many confluent factors – bias, rampant harassment, lack of mentorship – that contribute to this widening gap, but one stands out: caregiving. |
| Caregiving responsibilities – either as the parent of a newly arrived child or taking care of your own parents – are a heavy load to bear while climbing the career ladder, and one primarily held by women. Women do the vast majority of unpaid caregiving in this county, spending twice as much time doing it as men. | Caregiving responsibilities – either as the parent of a newly arrived child or taking care of your own parents – are a heavy load to bear while climbing the career ladder, and one primarily held by women. Women do the vast majority of unpaid caregiving in this county, spending twice as much time doing it as men. |
| Pew reports that mothers are twice as likely as fathers to say being a working parent has made it harder for them to advance in their job or career. About 41% of working mothers say this, compared with half as many working fathers. | Pew reports that mothers are twice as likely as fathers to say being a working parent has made it harder for them to advance in their job or career. About 41% of working mothers say this, compared with half as many working fathers. |
| In this same time period, where many women are caring for young children, many also become caregivers for aging parents. About 20% of the female workforce in the US is providing eldercare. The Family Caregiver Alliance found that eldercare often conflicts with work for women. Of women helping to care for a family member, 33% decreased work hours; 29% passed up a job promotion, training or assignment; and 22% took a leave of absence. | In this same time period, where many women are caring for young children, many also become caregivers for aging parents. About 20% of the female workforce in the US is providing eldercare. The Family Caregiver Alliance found that eldercare often conflicts with work for women. Of women helping to care for a family member, 33% decreased work hours; 29% passed up a job promotion, training or assignment; and 22% took a leave of absence. |
| When countries and companies have paid family leave policies, women’s workforce participation increases and the gender pay gap decreases. When Google increased its paid parental leave program, for example, the rate of female turnover after maternity leave was reduced by 50%. When men also have – and take – family leave, gender equality grows both at home and in the workplace. | When countries and companies have paid family leave policies, women’s workforce participation increases and the gender pay gap decreases. When Google increased its paid parental leave program, for example, the rate of female turnover after maternity leave was reduced by 50%. When men also have – and take – family leave, gender equality grows both at home and in the workplace. |
| Any company serious about addressing sexual harassment in the workplace should care about the women’s leadership gap. And anyone trying to close that gap must put paid time for caregiving at the top of their to-do list. But according to our research, they’re not. | Any company serious about addressing sexual harassment in the workplace should care about the women’s leadership gap. And anyone trying to close that gap must put paid time for caregiving at the top of their to-do list. But according to our research, they’re not. |
| My organization recently surveyed 70 of the largest US employers to understand their paid family leave policies and practices. What we found was shocking. A staggering 36% offer no parental leave. And of those that do have parental leave policies, only 4% offer parental leave equally to all parents. The eldercare picture is even darker: only two out of the top 70 employers offered any paid leave to meet broader caregiving responsibilities. | My organization recently surveyed 70 of the largest US employers to understand their paid family leave policies and practices. What we found was shocking. A staggering 36% offer no parental leave. And of those that do have parental leave policies, only 4% offer parental leave equally to all parents. The eldercare picture is even darker: only two out of the top 70 employers offered any paid leave to meet broader caregiving responsibilities. |
| US companies are at a serious global disadvantage when it comes to support for their employees with caregiving responsibilities. In nearly every other country in the world, maternity leave is a long standing and thriving public policy. In the absence of the sensible and forward thinking approach of policy like the currently proposed Family Act, employers are left to fill the gap in the US. As a result, only 14% of working people have access to even a day of paid leave to care for a new baby or seriously ill family member. | US companies are at a serious global disadvantage when it comes to support for their employees with caregiving responsibilities. In nearly every other country in the world, maternity leave is a long standing and thriving public policy. In the absence of the sensible and forward thinking approach of policy like the currently proposed Family Act, employers are left to fill the gap in the US. As a result, only 14% of working people have access to even a day of paid leave to care for a new baby or seriously ill family member. |
| And this brings us back to why women’s leadership is so important. The two companies that stand out for their great paid family caregiving leave? Both have women at the top. Facebook, with COO Sheryl Sandberg, offers six weeks of family caregiving leave and Deloitte, with US CEO Cathy Engelbert, offers 16 weeks. | And this brings us back to why women’s leadership is so important. The two companies that stand out for their great paid family caregiving leave? Both have women at the top. Facebook, with COO Sheryl Sandberg, offers six weeks of family caregiving leave and Deloitte, with US CEO Cathy Engelbert, offers 16 weeks. |
| If you’re an executive at a company that wants to make sure #MeToo doesn’t happen to you, you want women in leadership. If you want women in leadership, paid family leave offers a simple, urgent and timely solution to the barriers to women’s equality. Clearly, it’s time to give women a chance to lead. | If you’re an executive at a company that wants to make sure #MeToo doesn’t happen to you, you want women in leadership. If you want women in leadership, paid family leave offers a simple, urgent and timely solution to the barriers to women’s equality. Clearly, it’s time to give women a chance to lead. |
| Katie Bethell is the Founder and Executive Director of PL+US: Paid Leave for the US | Katie Bethell is the Founder and Executive Director of PL+US: Paid Leave for the US |