A staggering 22 million working women in the United States don’t have access to paid sick leave benefits, according to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. The current state of our economy may make this number escalate as we continue to see rising numbers of union concessions and corporate employee benefit reductions. However, paid sick days and family-friendly policies may be even more important today than ever before. As the baby boomer population ages and the “sandwich generation,” those with both minor children and aging parents, become especially vulnerable to the need for time off from work to care for a family member, paid sick leave will become critical as these families adapt to changing dynamics.

In Connecticut, the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW) and our allies, have been working for paid sick days legislation. Connecticut legislative session begins February 3rd and the Everybody Benefits Coalition, to which PCSW belongs, is gearing up to push this important workplace reform. While access to paid sick days would benefit all employees, women and families are disproportionately affected by the lack of paid sick leave, in large part because most women remain the main caregivers of their families.

Throughout their lifespan, women may care for, in addition to themselves, a child in utero, children and/or their elderly parents. If a woman needs to take a sick day for herself or a dependent family member but lacks paid leave, her options are limited: take unpaid leave and possibly affect her economic well-being or neglect her own health and/or the health of her loved ones.

Women, and their families, cannot afford the risk associated with a lack of paid sick days benefits. As the earnings of women in the workforce have increased, so has their contribution to family income. According to the Families and Work Institute, in 2008, employed women in dual-earner couples contributed an average of 44% of annual family income. Therefore, without paid sick leave, the loss of a working mother’s income could have a very detrimental effect on her family’s economic well-being.

Additionally, an article in the Monthly Labor Review says, women belonging to the sandwich generation provide an annual average of $1,521 in financial support to elderly parents and spend 23 hours a week (1,210 hours a year) on average providing care to elderly parents. Consequently, on average, women who provide care to aging parents curtail their hours of paid work by 43% in order to do so. This unique population is at even greater risk of financial difficulties if they too lack paid sick leave.

While naysayers will purport that paid sick days legislation would harm businesses, research shows that employees with paid sick leave and other family-friendly policies exhibit more positive work outcomes, such as job satisfaction, commitment to employer, and retention, as well as more positive life outcomes, such as less interference between job and family life, less negative spillover from job to home, greater life satisfaction, and better mental health.

As we approach the start of legislative session, we are ramping up our campaign to once again bring the issue of paid sick days to the forefront. In the context of paid sick leave, “sick” means more than the swine flu – it’s an attitude describing the systematic disregard for the value of women’s contributions to our society. Now that’s sick.

For more information about PCSW
For more information about the Everybody Benefits Coalition: http://www.everybodybenefits.org/index.php

Michelle Noehren is the Legislative Liaison and Events Coordinator for the Connecticut General Assembly’s Permanent Commission on the Status of Women. Additionally, she serves as Co-President of the Connecticut Chapter of the National Organization for Women.