New York NY (September 27, 2011) — Working Mother Media announces today a campaign to ensure that paid parental leave is available to all U.S. workers.  Offered by 178 nations around the world, including some of the poorest, paid parental leave is not mandated by just three countries: the United States, Swaziland and Papua New Guinea.

Numerous studies show that early bonding with parents sets children up for long-term health and well-being. And yet only about half of all working women with young children in the United States are able to take any paid leave after childbirth; just a fifth of working new moms receive leave with full pay, according to a review of recent data by the Washington, DC-based advocacy group National Partnership for Women & Families. 

“This campaign is essential to the health of all working families,” says Carol Evans, president of Working Mother Media. “It is also critical to the economic health of our companies and our nation. Our ability to compete in the global marketplace depends upon the energy, intelligence and commitment that our mothers and fathers bring to the workplace.”

The 2011 Working Mother 100 Best Companies agree. Every one of them offers paid maternity leave, while 76 percent also provide paid paternity leave and 79 percent offer paid adoption leave.

 “It’s time for the rest of the country to follow the lead set decades ago by the Working Mother 100 Best Companies,” says Jennifer Owens, editorial director of Working Mother. “By investing in children from the outset, these companies help create a healthier, better-adjusted society.”

With the National Partnership for Women & Families, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization located in Washington, D.C., Working Mother has launched an online petition to Congress supporting paid parental leave for America’s working parents. Click here to access our petition.  

“Our nation’s failure to provide key supports like paid leave forces millions of working parents to choose between the well-being of their families and their jobs when a new child arrives. For many, that means that what should be one of the happiest times in their lives is instead consumed by worries about making ends meet and economic survival, and whether caring for their new child will cost them their economic security,” said National Partnership for Women & Families President Debra L. Ness. “America’s working parents deserve much better. That’s why a national paid leave standard is so important, and why we are proud to be releasing this petition with Working Mother.”

“We are asking all citizens to rally together by signing our electronic petition to the United States Congress, to change the appalling state of parental leave in this country,” says Evans, who noted that only 16 percent of all U.S. companies offer paid maternity, paternity or adoption leave, according a recent survey by the Society for Human Resource Management.

Paid maternity leave has a direct impact on mothers, babies, families and employers. According to a recent report from Human Rights Watch, mothers who receive paid maternity leave are: 

• More likely to breastfeed their babies longer
• More likely to immunize their children on schedule
• Less like to suffer post-partum depression
• And more likely to return to their current employer, thus creating a less disruptive workplace.

“The cost of paid parental leave to employees and employers is minimal as proven by mandated paid-leave programs in California and New Jersey that cover birth, adoption, foster placement or leave to care for a sick immediate-family-member,” says Owens. For example, in California, moms and dads can take up to six weeks off at 55 percent of their salary with a maximum weekly payout of $987. In New Jersey, parents can take up to six weeks off at a max of $559 a week. “In both cases, businesses don’t pay a nickel for these programs.”

To learn more about the power of paid parental leave and Working Mother’s four-year campaign, read “Everyone but U.S.” in Working Mother’s October issue or at http://www.workingmother.com/best-companies/everyone-us-state-maternity-leave. Working Mother is a division of Bonnier Corporation.

About Working Mother Media

Working Mother magazine reaches 2.2 million readers and is the only national magazine for career-committed mothers; WorkingMother.com (www.workingmother.com) gives working mothers @home and @work advice, solutions, and ideas. This year marks the 26th anniversary of Working Mother’s signature research initiative, Working Mother 100 Best Companies, and the ninth year of the Best Companies for Multicultural Women. Working Mother Media, a division of Bonnier Corporation (www.bonnier.com), includes the National Association for Female Executives (NAFE, www.nafe.com), Diversity Best Practices (www.diversitybestpractices.com), and the Working Mother Research Institute. Working Mother Media’s mission is to serve as a champion of culture change.

About the National Partnership for Women & Families

The National Partnership for Women & Families is a non-profit, non-partisan advocacy group dedicated to promoting fairness in the workplace, access to quality health care and policies that help women and men meet the dual demands of work and family.