Paid Leave for All

Why So Many Women Are Quitting the Workforce Labor force participation among women has started falling again in 2025.

“It’s a stark number: 212,000. That’s how many women ages 20 and over have left the workforce since January.” Women and working families still have no guarantee of paid leave or child care, and the loss of flexibility and remote work compounds the crisis.
time.com/7306896/wome...

Join us at @netrootsnation.bsky.social!

Care Policies to Counter Fascism: A Political Path to Victory (might even get into the movie Casablanca).
Friday, August 8th
10:00 AM CT
NETROOTS PANEL ROOM: 286/287 #NN25

NEW: Minnesota just ranked the third best state to have a baby. That’s no coincidence.

We’re expanding paid leave and child care, delivering a nation-leading child tax credit, and investing in public schools. We’re putting families first and it’s making a difference.

California increased paid family leave payments. Now more parents are taking advantage Starting in January, the state offered more-generous leave benefits. Claims in the first two quarters this year were up about 16%, compared to the same time period last year.

Great news from California, where improved #PaidLeave benefits do what they are intended to: Let people take #TimeToCare for children and loved ones and themselves!

laist.com/news/educati...

A woman in a dress speaking at a podium.

A man and woman holding rally signs about child care.

A woman speaking at a podium with one hand raised.

A woman in a blue shirt at a podium holding a microphone.

We’re here with our partners at #FamiliesFirst New Jersey to say #CareNotCuts. Cutting Medicaid, care, and food all to serve billionaires is a betrayal of families everywhere.

On a day that the congress has decided to go on an early recess and take 6 weeks of paid leave it is important to remember that in the U.S there is no federal law that guarantees paid maternity leave or family leave.
Just something to think about in case you need more things to think about today.

We shouldn’t be gutting the social safety net we have and taking away food and health care millions rely on to pad the pockets of billionaires. Instead billionaires should be paying their fair share so we can grow our safety net and invest in things like paid leave. Supermajorities of voters agree.

We discuss the momentum that the push to pass Paid Family & Medical Leave is gaining w/ @paidleaveforall.bsky.social‬.

momsrising.org/bt07jul25/?source=bsky

Families First - A 50-State Day of Peaceful Action for Our Families On Saturday, July 26th, American families in every corner of the country will come together in peaceful marches, rallies and events to say: our families come first, and we will protect each other.

NOT ONE MORE.
—Not one more child hungry.
—Not one more elder without meds.
—Not one more family left behind.
July 26 → We rise for #FamiliesFirst.
📍 Join us: FamiliesFirstNow.org.
#NotOneMore

We need action, not just words, to protect working families and beat back Trump's billionaires-first agenda.

Together, we're working to protect affordable child care, paid leave, and public education, even as Trump’s Big Billionaire Bill tries to strip those necessities away.

The effects of state paid sick leave mandates on parental childcare time The U.S. lacks a federal paid sick leave policy. To date, 17 states and the District of Columbia have adopted or announced paid sick leave mandates th…

New research finds paid sick day laws help working parents to better juggle their work and childcare responsibilities. On average, parents spend 5.8 percent more time caring for children when they have paid sick days. #PaidLeave www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

They're Coming for Your Overtime Pay While loudly touting “no tax on overtime,” the Trump administration has begun rulemaking and congressional Republicans have begun the legislative process on policies that would rollback overtime prote...

Overtime pay and employment rights like #FMLA are vital worker benefits that these Republican proposals could roll back. Learn all about it in this new @NPWF brief. #WorkerBenefits #EconomicSecurity nationalpartnership.org/report/theyr...

Ballet dancers are rewriting the rules on maternity leave From contract wins to postpartum solidarity, ballerinas are demanding better maternity leave—and offering a powerful model for all working mothers.

"For generations, ballet companies have demanded that pregnancy be invisible. Maternity leave was unpaid or partial, dancers had to use up sick leave before they even gave birth, and postpartum bodies were seen as 'inconvenient' to the art form."
www.mother.ly/career-money...

Not surprising. US is only high-income country--and 1 of only a few countries worldwide--that doesn't have national #paidleave policy for new parents. Our research (and others) have shown positive effects of state leave policies on health: tinyurl.com/3x55ykhn @irpwisc.bsky.social @npwf.bsky.social

Kansans need paid leave. 💔

Read Cecelia's story: paidleaveks.org/cecelia/

#PaidLeave #PaidLeaveKS #PaidLeaveForAll #PaidLeaveForAllKansans

Louisiana Teachers Share How Paid Leave Would Impact Them - A Better Balance Providing paid leave for educators demonstrates that a school district values its employees and their families; Louisiana educators need and deserve these critical protections.

Why is fighting for #PaidLeaveForAll so important? “Puppies get to stay with their moms longer than human babies do. I feel like that should be reason enough," said one Louisiana teacher. www.abetterbalance.org/louisiana-te...

29 "Normal" Things From Other Countries That I, An American, Cannot Believe Are Real I'm still trying to wrap my American mind around the nude sauna thing.

Things In Other Countries That The "American Mind" Cannot Comprehend:

"The maternity leave is f****** bonkers."
www.buzzfeed.com/kelley_green...

20 best countries for work-life balance—And U.S. isn't on it The U.S. fails to place in the top 20 countries in the world with the best work-life balance.

"... the United States was absent from the top rankings due to its lack of statutory paid parental leave and private healthcare system." www.newsweek.com/20-best-coun...

Few concerned with declining birthrates, but many worry about the costs of child care and favor paid family leave - AP-NORC About half of the public think child care costs and improving health outcomes for pregnant women should be high priorities for the federal government, just 12% think encouraging families to have more ...

"Few concerned with declining birthrates, but many worry about the costs of child care and favor paid family leave" apnorc.org/projects/few...

3 Small Companies Recognized For Paid Leave Innovation In 2025 Index The 2025 Leading on Leave Index highlights top small companies on paid leave, while revealing the need for public policies to close the gap between small and large firms.

“…three small companies have found a way to invest in robust paid leave policies. These companies were recognized as leaders in the small and mid-sized company category in the National Partnership for Women & Families 2025 Leading on Leave Report, released in June.”
www.forbes.com/sites/michel...

Study: More dads are taking parental leave than ever before - ParentsTogether More men are taking paid paternity leave in states that have the benefit, says a new study, narrowing the gender gap in parental leave.

"More men are taking paid paternity leave in states that offer the benefit, according to a new study from advocacy group Paid Leave for All. The study, reported by Axios, spotlights a significant shift in parenting dynamics across the United States." parents-together.org/study-more-d...

The Mental-Health Stigma That Won’t Go Away: Getting Paid Time Off to Heal Workers struggling with mental illness are denied disability benefits more often than those with physical conditions, data show.

Everyone needs and deserves paid time off to heal.
www.wsj.com/lifestyle/wo...

More dads in California are taking family leave, but still behind mothers. Here's what the data show Men made up 44% of claims for paid family leave to bond with a new child in fiscal year 2024, compared to only 18% in 2005.

Our new report on men's use of paid leave in the states in @laist.com.

“‘Claims are going up from everybody, but what's really driving that overall increase is this gigantic increase in claims from men,' said Molly Weston Williamson, who authored the report." laist.com/news/educati...

Nearly 73 Million Workers Live in States That Block Local Communities from Making Progress on Paid Sick Days | National Partnership for Women & Families Lawmakers in 18 states across the country – the majority of which are in the South – fail to guarantee that workers can earn paid sick days, and at the same time block local governments from setting t...

Nearly 73 million workers live in states that block local communities from making progress on paid sick days. New data from @npwf.bsky.social and @abetterbalance.org shows who bears the brunt of these unfair practices: nationalpartnership.org/psd-progress-blocked

Workers’ Voices: Time Off to Care for Our Loved Ones Shouldn’t Be a Luxury – Dads Like Me Need Paid Leave - A Better Balance This Father's Day, dads like Ben need access to paid leave so that they aren't forced to make impossible decisions between caring for their loved ones and staying afloat financially.

“The stress of making sure your child comes into this world safely should not be coupled with the stress of making sure you budgeted enough money to care for them.”

Fathers like Ben, who called A Better Balance's helpline, know firsthand - we need #PaidLeaveForAll.

If Americans Were Paid For Their Caregiving, They Would Make More Than $1.1 Trillion | National Partnership for Women & Families Caring for our loved ones and neighbors is critical, important work that our families and communities depend on and the economic impact of this work is enormous. Americans' unpaid care is valued at more than $1.1 trillion a year – and women do almost two-thirds of the work.

Women spend an average of nearly 300 hours each on caregiving annually, equating to more than $683 billion in unpaid care work – $4,900 for each woman in the U.S. #PaidLeaveForAll https://nationalpartnership.org/if-americans-were-paid-for-their-caregiving-they-would-make-more-than-1-1-trillion/

In a recent Grow Progress test, when people in PA hear about a bill to pass paid leave in the Commonwealth, they are more likely to agree that state government is looking out for working people and they’re more excited about the government. More than 80% of voters support this legislation.

Did you know Pennsylvania is on the cusp of passing a statewide paid leave program?

The legislation has bipartisan support, along with the endorsement of 81% of PA voters and organizations across the Commonwealth and country.

ICYMI

Young Workers Least Likely To Have Parental Leave, Sick Days—Report The U.S. is a global outlier in paid time off. And the youngest members of the workforce are the least likely to get the paid leave they need. Experts say it could spell disaster for their careers—and...

Carmen McCoy of @abetterbalance.org spoke with me about an important report on young workers and paid leave by A Better Balance, @clasp.org, and the National Collaborative for Transformative Youth Policy. It found that young workers want more access to information on rights and benefits.