GREENSBORO, N.C. — I just celebrated my first Mother's Day as a mom.
I'm still in awe that my daughter, Baylor, is mine. There's so much I'm grateful for, including that I work for a company that has 12 weeks paid maternity leave.
Sadly, not every mom is that lucky.
Someone very close to me will have her first baby in the fall. Her job doesn't provide any paid maternity leave so she is having to save vacation and sick days just to stay at home with her son when he is born. She is hoping to have at least 4 weeks if that.
Let that sink in.
I don't understand why it's 2022 and moms in the United States aren't guaranteed any paid maternity leave.
Yes, there's the Family and Medical Leave Act which requires employers to give at least 12 weeks, but it's unpaid.
According to the International Labour Organization, more than 120 nations provide paid maternity leave. The U.S. is not one of them.
The Washington Post says Great Britain gives 39 weeks paid maternity leave. Sweden gives 68. Japan gives 52 weeks or more. Again, the U.S. gives 0.
Moms in our country deserve better. They deserve the time with their new babies as well as the time for their own bodies to heal after giving birth.
I want to see change happen.
That's just my '2 cents.'