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February publication out now!!!
“The Working Mother’s Penalty”
by: Grace Castleberry
The United States Maternity leave policy doesn’t fail because it's not developed, but it fails because it was created without thought of a woman's economic reality in the picture. When looking closely at the legislation, it’s clear that this system doesn't just overlook women, it also disadvantages them.
Federal Maternity leave was introduced in 1993 with the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). This act would implement up to 12 weeks of protected maternity leave. However, this leave does not need to be paid. It was signed in February 1993 by president Clinton. While many thought this act was very progressive and fixed many issues regarding employed women, it still left barriers for new mothers. The leave not being paid makes new mothers go 3 months without a paycheck if they stay home all 12 weeks. This is incredibly hard to live off with hospital bills, and incoming child expenses like doctors appointments, clothes, formula, etc.
California saw this issue and in 2002 became the first state to implement paid maternity leave. The bill they passed allowed eligible workers to take up to 6 weeks of partial (usually 55%-75% of weekly earnings) paid leave when taking care of a new child or a sick family member. Studies showed this increased breastfeeding rates, showed positive effects on women's long term health, and allowed people to bond with their newborn. Other states followed California's footsteps like New Jersey (family leave insurance program in 2008), Rhode Island (offered paid family leave in 2013), and New York State (offered paid family leave starting in 2016). As of January 2026, 13 states and DC have mandatory paid family leave laws. This is just over 1/4th of the states; meaning the other 3/4ths of states who don’t implement these laws have parents going 12 weeks without pay after having a newborn baby. The original Family and Medical Leave Act is still flawed in itself as it only applies to companies with over 50 workers in a 75 mile radius. This means if working for a small business, protected maternity leave isn’t an option. To qualify, the employee also must have worked with that company for a year. Even when workers qualify to take the leave, it disadvantages those of lower socioeconomic status as they can’t trade job protection for financial instability.
With all these reasons, the current federal act disadvantages millions of new mothers and newborns. In fact, research shows that with a lack of early parental bonding, long-term effects like increased aggression and emotional detachment impact newborns. Infant child care is expensive and hard to find, tangling many aspiring moms in either pursuing their professional career, or deciding to be stay at home moms. However, women shouldn’t need to make that decision. There should be more protections for mothers to balance young children and work. People around the nation agree, and have started drafting reforms. A big one is the H.R.5390 - 119th Congress (2025-2026): FAMILY Act, which is a proposed US federal bill that will offer paid maternity leave for up to 12 weeks. It wants to replace or extend the already existing FMLA, which is unpaid.
The United States Maternity Leave policy reveals the sad truth on how working women are valued. Paid maternity leave shouldn't be seen as a luxury or a progressive order, but a necessity for women. After all, childbirth sustains our country, and until federal policy recognizes that, motherhood is continued to be viewed as an inconvenience to women in the workforce, rather than a joy of carrying on the human race.
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