<story><title>The case for national paid maternity leave</title><url>https://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2020/05/18/the-case-for-national-paid-maternity-leave/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>baq</author><text>i live in a country with paid parental leave and have heard second-hand stories of employer bias against women in childbearing age precisely because women in childbearing age got employed and promptly got pregnant.&lt;p&gt;for the record i&amp;#x27;m for this kind of social assistance because the alternative sounds downright barbaric.</text></item><item><author>pm90</author><text> The study seems to confirm the economic benefits associated with paid parental leave.&lt;p&gt;&amp;gt; On the flip side, some studies have shown less positive effects, such as encouragement of employer bias against women of childbearing age in lower-paying or part-time jobs.&lt;p&gt;It makes 0 sense to not have paid parental leave by law. Government assistance in the form of medicare assistance etc. should be provided to lower income parents or those that don&amp;#x27;t have access to employer sponsored healthcare. Apart from the economic and ethical argument, if we want the next generation of Americans to have happy, healthy childhoods, it seems imperative to provide as much assistance as possible to enable that environment.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>mapgrep</author><text>A great example of why not just maternity leave (per the link) but parental leave broadly is a good idea. And why both parents need to take it. Otherwise it will be used by some as an excuse to discriminate against birth parents.&lt;p&gt;Of course there are many other benefits to both parents taking leave, including that studies have shown that non birth parents who take leave tend to be more involved in parenting long term. Also, it’s hugely rewarding emotionally!</text></comment>
<story><title>The case for national paid maternity leave</title><url>https://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2020/05/18/the-case-for-national-paid-maternity-leave/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>baq</author><text>i live in a country with paid parental leave and have heard second-hand stories of employer bias against women in childbearing age precisely because women in childbearing age got employed and promptly got pregnant.&lt;p&gt;for the record i&amp;#x27;m for this kind of social assistance because the alternative sounds downright barbaric.</text></item><item><author>pm90</author><text> The study seems to confirm the economic benefits associated with paid parental leave.&lt;p&gt;&amp;gt; On the flip side, some studies have shown less positive effects, such as encouragement of employer bias against women of childbearing age in lower-paying or part-time jobs.&lt;p&gt;It makes 0 sense to not have paid parental leave by law. Government assistance in the form of medicare assistance etc. should be provided to lower income parents or those that don&amp;#x27;t have access to employer sponsored healthcare. Apart from the economic and ethical argument, if we want the next generation of Americans to have happy, healthy childhoods, it seems imperative to provide as much assistance as possible to enable that environment.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>ta1234567890</author><text>Yes it happens. But why punish 100% of potential beneficiaries for what maybe 1-5% of them might do. Just include the cost of abuse in the projections and deal with it. That&amp;#x27;s how every system works. Every system gets abused.&lt;p&gt;One example: credit cards - there&amp;#x27;s plenty of fraud there, but we somehow manage to deal with it and make the system work regardless.</text></comment>