US One of Three Countries Without Paid Maternity Leave

US One of Three Countries Without Paid Maternity Leave AOC Sexual Politics

United States, Swaziland and Papua New Guinea Have No Paid Maternity Leave

Human Rights Watch issued a report yesterday ‘Failing Its Families: Lack of Paid Leave and Work-Family Supports in the US’.

Of the 190 countries studied in the report, 178 guaranteed paid leave for new mothers, while nine were unclear about their maternity policies. Just three nations offer no legal guarantee of paid maternity leave — Papua New Guinea, Swaziland and the U.S. are the only countries who have no legal guarantee of paid maternity leave.

Of the 178 nations that guarantee paid leave for new mothers, more than 50 extend paid leave to new fathers. More than 100 offer 14 or more weeks of paid leave for new mothers, including Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom.   The 34 members of the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) provide on average 18 weeks of paid maternity leave, with an average of 13 weeks at full pay, Human Rights Watch said.