Latest news with #PaidLeaveforAll
Axios
8 hours ago
- General
- Axios
More fathers are taking paid parental leave
More men are taking paid paternity leave in states that have the benefit, per a study out Saturday shared exclusively with Axios. Why it matters: Taking time off to bond with a newborn or newly adopted child has all kinds of upsides, not just for fathers and their families, but for women in the workplace, too. Men, women and children all see positive health impacts — including reduced infant mortality rates, research finds. How it works: Though there is no federal paid leave, 13 states and Washington, D.C., have policies. They're typically funded by payroll taxes, and pay out a certain portion of a worker's income, giving parents about 12 weeks of "bonding" leave. In most states, workers have the right to take time off, and many states offer job protection so you can't be fired while away. By the numbers: Fathers and mothers are coming close to parity, finds the report from advocacy group Paid Leave for All. The study looked at the share of men and women taking advantage of these policies in the 10 states where they are already up and running, including in Washington, Colorado and Massachusetts. (Some states have laws on the books, but the programs aren't yet paying benefits.) They found that men took, or applied for, at least 40% of the leave taken in eight of ten states over the last full year for which data was available. In D.C., men took 35% of leaves and in New Jersey it's 30%. Zoom in: The newer programs are seeing much more equitable take-up. In Colorado, where leave was enacted in 2024, fathers make up half of new parents taking the time off. In Washington state, established in 2020, it's more than half. Back when California became the first state to enact paid parental leave in 2005, men comprised just 18% of those who used the benefit. Now it's 44%. New Jersey, established in 2010, has gone from 11% to 30%. The big picture: " A thing that the United States actually does well when it comes to paid leave is that all state programs' bonding leave are fully gender equal," says Molly Weston Williamson, who wrote the report. Each parent who works is entitled to the leave; there's no limitation for those who aren't so-called "primary" parents. Plus, states in recent years have paid more attention to making these policies more accessible in ways that have benefited men. Some of the earliest states to enact leave found that if wage replacement rates were too low, fathers were far less likely to use the benefit. Newer programs have higher rates and they're structured so that lower-income workers get a higher percentage of wages covered, typically about 85%. Caveat: Women who give birth are often entitled to separate medical leave. That's not part of this data. A few mothers may take only medical leave after childbirth and forgo bonding time off. That's a small cohort, says Williamson. Between the lines: Certainly there are those who believe fathers shouldn't take paternity leave — former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was mocked by conservatives for doing it. And lately there's been increasing attention paid to those who long for more traditional modes of parenting, where dads stayed at work while moms remained home. The study counters that narrative.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Amber Heard Celebrates Mother's Day by Announcing She Welcomed Twins ‘On My Own Terms'
Deadline/Getty Images Amber Heard celebrated Mother's Day 2025 by announcing the birth of her twin boy and girl. On May 11, the 39-year-old actor revealed she welcomed her second and third children in an Instagram post featuring the newborns' tiny feet. Heard previously welcomed her first daughter, Oonagh Paige Heard, in 2021. Four years later, the 'Heard gang' has gained two new members: baby girl Agnes and baby boy Ocean. 'Mother's Day 2025 will be one I'll never forget. This year I am elated beyond words to celebrate the completion of the family I've strived to build for years,' Heard wrote in her Instagram post. 'Today I officially share the news that I welcomed twins into the Heard gang. My daughter Agnes and my son Ocean are keeping my hands (and my heart) full.' She continued, 'When I had my first baby girl Oonagh four years ago, my world changed forever. I thought I couldn't possibly burst with more joy. Well, now I am bursting times three!!! Becoming a mother by myself and on my own terms despite my own fertility challenges has been the most humbling experience of my life. I am eternally grateful that I was able to choose this responsibly and thoughtfully. To all the moms, wherever you are today and however you got here, my dream family and I are celebrating with you. Love always, A x.' Amber Heard waited three months before she announced the birth of her first daughter back in 2021. As she reiterated in her most recent post, the actor wanted to build a family 'on her own terms' following her tumultuous divorce from Johnny Depp in 2016. She welcomed Oonagh Paige Heard in April 2021, nearly one year after the death of her mother, Paige Heard. 'Four years ago, I decided I wanted to have a child,' she wrote alongside a portrait with her first-born in July 2021. 'I wanted to do it on my own terms. I now appreciate how radical it is for us as women to think about one of the most fundamental parts of our destinies in this way. I hope we arrive at a point in which it's normalized to not want a ring in order to have a crib.' She continued, 'A part of me wants to uphold that my private life is none of anyone's business. I also get that the nature of my job compels me to take control of this. My daughter was born on April 8, 2021. Her name is Oonagh Paige Heard. She's the beginning of the rest of my life.' Later that month, Heard referred to herself as 'mom and dad' in a playful Instagram post about Oonagh, writing, 'I'm just the mom and the dad. She's the boss.' It seems not much has changed since the Heard family expanded. "Amber is delighted to welcome the twins and complete her family," a spokesperson for Heard told People on May 11. 'Mama and babies are enjoying every minute. And Oonagh is happily running the show.' Paid Leave Paid Leave is All Moms Want for Mother's Day The founding director of Paid Leave for All is fighting to build a better future—for all families. Originally Appeared on Glamour
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Paid Leave is All Moms Want for Mother's Day
Last month I met a woman named Elizabeth, who told me about how her newborn daughter had been rushed to the NICU as soon as she was delivered—where she would stay for six weeks. Elizabeth explained that she had found herself with an excruciating decision to make: start her limited paid leave immediately, and risk running out of time to spend with her daughter when she was finally released from hospital. Or go back to work within hours of a deeply traumatic birth, in order to save the time off that she had for when her daughter was allowed home. She chose the latter—working while just hours postpartum, her body still in recovery, her baby hooked up to a CPAP machine and struggling under bilirubin lights, all to ensure that she would maximize her time with her daughter once she was discharged. It was a choice no mother should ever have to make. And as I listened to her choke up recounting what had happened I thought, how is this still possible in America? Things aren't good for moms in America. We remain one of the only countries in the world without any guaranteed form of paid leave. We continue to have the worst maternal mortality rates of high-income nations, particularly for Black women. Child care is more expensive than rent or college tuition in a number of states—and a majority of Americans live in child care deserts, meaning there is no accessible care at all. The costs of living seem to increase daily. Abortion bans are multiplying. Fertility and maternal health investments—dismal to begin with—are now being slashed. Women are dying. So what do you do? How do you keep going, keep hoping, keep advocating for better? What do you do when systems and leaders profoundly fail you? At Paid Leave for All, the organization I lead, the answer for us has always been community. This Mother's Day, together with MomsRising and more than 50 mission-driven brands, we're working to build it. We will be organizing the largest collective action among businesses giving back to mothers in a single day. This nationwide, community-powered effort across business and advocacy—that we've called 'Pop Up for Paid Leave'—will offer more than $130,000 in mutual aid and free services to moms, from professional and personal coaching to diapers and formula. We are creating small havens in pop-ups across the country to give out these products, treat moms to some food and drink and experiences, and to help them feel like, somewhere, finally, they are seen. Instead of closing doors, we're opening them, to connection across communities, sectors, walks of life. Until our leadership reflects the real experiences and needs of working families, we will show up for each other ourselves, with care. We're also aware that, of course, what moms really need is well beyond 'stuff.' It's not the mom 'medals' the White House has allegedly been considering. It's affordable groceries and essentials like diapers and postpartum care. And it's the safety and dignity of knowing that you can earn a decent living and afford a family in this country. We deserve the ability to maintain a life and a livelihood, something much of the world takes for granted. And so we're doing this action not just to give back to moms, but to keep paid leave in the national conversation, a policy priority we won't concede again. And we're changing the conversation. Instead of sharing only heartbreaking stories, dark statistics and the costs of inaction, we're asking moms and caregivers to share what their lives could have been like — what their world will be like — with the assurance of paid family and medical leave. Some of the answers have already trickled in: 'Paid leave would have given me something priceless: more time with my baby after the NICU.' 'Paid leave would give me emotional and financial stability and a second child.' 'National paid leave would mean I could work where I want to, not just where I have to.' 'Paid leave would save my family.' Can you imagine your life, a world, where you had the freedom to pursue the work or start the business of your dreams? Where you could have children, or care for aging parents or ill loved ones, without worrying about breaking the bank? Where you wouldn't have to live with not just the fear of a diagnosis, but keeping a job throughout treatment? Where you didn't have to live with the financial and emotional stress of the inevitables in life? Can you imagine a world where no one missed a baby's first smile or a parent's last breath? In my own life and motherhood I often say I was lucky. I scrapped together a little bit of paid leave; I had family who was able to support me, I had health insurance. I was better off than many women in this country — the one in four who have returned to work within two weeks of giving birth. The countless who have never found affordable care. The many who didn't even survive. And yet, becoming a mother in America was still the hardest experience of my life. I went back to work well before my child was sleeping, well before my body had healed. I've never been the same. But this Mother's Day, in spite of the challenges and dangers around us, I'm looking ahead and invite you to too. What if you knew you had paid leave, no matter where you lived, or where you worked, or who you loved? What if you had the peace of mind of both a healthy family and a healthy paycheck? What if you had the time you needed, to recover, to bond, to heal? We're at a crossroads in a lot of ways in America, and about our character as a country, whether we look out for each other and protect all working families, or just serve a billionaire class. Whether we tackle a dwindling birthrate with faux incentives or punishments, or address a crisis of care with real structural change that allows all families to thrive. Whether we pursue common-sense economic solutions with overwhelming bipartisan support, like paid leave or affordable child care, or continue gutting the little social safety net we have left. In the end Elizabeth was able to use her state's paid leave program to extend her leave from work, take her daughter home from the NICU, meet her and hold her beyond the bilirubin lights. We asked her what paid leave had given her and she wept again, this time with joy. 'It gave me the ability to be home with my daughter.' This Mother's Day, what else could we wish for—paid leave for all. Originally Appeared on Glamour More Parenting Parents, you might be too emotionally invested in Bluey Can a $200 Instagram class really make you a better mother? 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