Support Paid Maternity Leave

The current situation facing mothers today is intolerable and can no longer be ignored. Women who choose to become mothers face a variety of forms of discrimination including limited or no maternity leave and loss of employment or employment unavailability.

According to The Motherhood Manifesto (which can be accessed in full-text at www.mothersrising.org) the United States is one of only four other countries that don’t offer paid leave to mothers. The others include Papua New Guinea, Lesotho and Swaziland.
Since 51% of new mothers don’t get paid maternity leave many face termination or must make do with no pay. Having a baby is now a leading cause of poverty in the United States because a family’s income falls short of basic living expenses if a mother is at home taking care of her child without pay.

This is a relevant issue for both men and women who currently have children or are thinking of starting a family whether down the road or in the near future. With three quarter’s of America’s mothers in the workforce to deny them the right to paid maternity leave is economically unsound.

Discrimination in the workforce contributes to lower economic growth, diminishing incomes and higher expenses for unemployment and social security.

Ensuring paid maternity leave is the first step in making sure America’s families are secure. We urge the congressmen of the State of Indiana to take that first step and take responsibility for the future of its families by supporting paid maternity leave for its citizens.