Chart Of Parental Leave Around The World Shows Depressing Truth About The U.S.
Working parents in the U.S. are faced with a difficult reality from the moment their babies are born: There's no mandated paid parental leave.
As of now, mothers can take 12 weeks of unpaid maternity leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act -- but that doesn't include anyone working for a small business or many part-time workers who don't meet time qualifications. Paid parental leave is even rarer: Only 12 percent of American employees work for companies that offer it, according to the Center for American Progress.
A new chart by Citation, a "provider of employment law, HR, health and safety and training solutions" based in the U.K., shows just how far the U.S. lags behind the world in terms of family leave. Among the countries included in the analysis, America is the worst country for maternity leave, tied with Lesotho and Swaziland. The U.S. didn't crack the top 10 "worst" list for paternity leave, but it didn't make it on the "best" list either. Any way you slice it, it seems the vast majority of working parents in the U.S. have few options when it comes to taking care of newborns.
Check out the chart below to see how America stacks up -- and what helpful policies other nations are enacting:
