Fixing Parental Leave

Gayle Kaufman’s incisive analysis of parental leave policies in the U.S., the United Kingdom, and Sweden convincingly demonstrates that there is no need to choose between child well-being and parental equality. By showing us what works—and what doesn’t—Fixing Parental Leave offers a blueprint for addressing the deepening caregiving crisis facing workers and parents worldwide. It deserves the attention of anyone concerned about the fate of American families, workplaces, and political culture at this critical juncture in our history. ~Kathleen Gerson, author of The Unfinished Revolution: Coming of Age in a New Era of Gender, Work, and Family

Kaufman provides a comprehensive and lively portrait of the parental leave landscape in the United States—both public and private—and demonstrates that the picture is bleak. She draws on policy models operating in Sweden and the United Kingdom to craft policy lessons, both inspirational and cautionary. The heart of Kaufman’s book is a blueprint for the policy reforms that are desperately needed in the United States – reforms that would enable parents to better reconcile parenting and employment, while promoting more gender-egalitarian divisions of labor. Ideally, the book will land in the hands of American policy-makers at the national, state, and local levels. ~Janet Gornick, author of Income Inequality: Economic Disparities and the Middle Class in Affluent Countries

Inducing fury as it exposes American workplaces that give lip service to family leave laws, but that do little to support new families, the book shows that having children penalizes working parents, who are shunted into “mommy track” jobs, miss out on promotions, and depend on employers’ goodwill as they adapt. Forwarding a nuanced perspective on the real consequences of leave policies, [Fixing Parental Leave] compares the US to nations including Sweden and the UK, and find that most successful leave policies take fathers into account, too… The book’s suggestions are enlightening, big picture ones that keep in mind the fact that babies need parents who provide love and stability. ~Foreword Reviews

In Fixing Parental Leave, Kaufman argues that the US continues to lead the world in its lack of support for families, made apparent by its approach to parental leave. The author’s carefully constructed case study of parental leave policies in the US, UK, and Sweden reveals not only best policies and practices for ensuring healthy families and maximizing women’s participation in the labor force, but also illuminates the clear relationship between parental leave and gender equality… [A] valuable study. ~Choice