The Effects of the Global Economic Crisis on Paid Parental Leave Policy

It is no secret that the global economy is in the midst of a huge economic downturn. When nations are faced with corporations reporting in the red, increased unemployment, and a rising deficit, priorities are put into check. Only 5 countries in the world currently have no national paid parental leave policy, the most jarring being Australia and the United States. While Congresswoman Maloney recently introduced HR bill 626 for federal employee paid parental leave in the US and Australia continues to be close to implementing new policy that would pay parents on leave, there is one thing standing in the way...the economy. Today it was reported in the Australian media that paid parental leave policy, that was about to be approved and implemented by the government, may now be in jeopardy because of budget issues (Paid Maternity Leave Latest Casualty of the Recession) Without a doubt the cost of paid parental leave will be very expensive to both the government and businesses. Current research has placed the number at $2 billion in the US and $450 million in Australia. In the current economy can our governments and companies afford to take on such a high expense?

I think the question is can we afford not to? Yes, this would be a huge expense to the government and employers on a whole, but currently the lack of paid parental leave has a huge economic effect on families which can only be exacerbated by the current economic downturn. When parents (especially mothers) are not given paid parental leave they suffer a huge lose of income. For many families that live paycheck to paycheck, or have little savings, this decrease in monthly income can be the difference between whether or not the bills get paid. In fact without paid leave many families could be pushed into poverty. The cost of having a child is already quite high, and the additional burden of income lose can be very dangerous to a family's economic health. In these uncertain times it is crucial that when evaluating expensive policies we consider both the macro and micro economic effects.