Blog: What Moms Really Want for Mother's Day

Statement

Millions of moms around the country this week were asked what they wanted for Mother's Day. I'm willing to wager that many wanted to skip the cards and gifts, and instead spend a nice afternoon with their kids.

For all too many of them, however, time with their families is hard to find. We're the only advanced economy without some form of national paid leave or paid sick time. What kind of message are we sending when we force a woman to go back to work two weeks after a C-section, or when we make a mother to choose between putting a sick kid on the school bus or losing a day's pay?

Absent action from Congress on expanding access to paid leave, forward-looking leaders in state and local government and the private sector are stepping up to the challenge. On Thursday, I spoke with representatives from companies large and small who have found that offering their employees paid family leave isn't just the right thing to do, it's good for business.

There has been some important progress on many of these issues. States and localities continue to lead on raising wages and providing paid leave.

For the past two years, the U.S. Department of Labor Women's Bureau has supported states and municipalities that are looking to expand access to paid leave for their workers, by awarding over $2 million through the paid leave analysis grant program.

Building on the success of the program in 2014 and 2015, we've just made another $1 million available for this important research. The grants will support the research and analysis needed to develop and implement paid family and medical leave programs in states and municipalities across the country. In this third round of grants, we're looking forward to seeing more innovative research proposals and helping make them a reality.

Our mothers sacrifice so much for us; fair wages and benefits are the least we can do for them. Over the last seven years, we've made tremendous progress doing just that. We've increased the minimum wage for workers on federal contracts, provided basic labor protections like minimum wage and overtime for home care workers (an overwhelmingly female profession), and prohibited discrimination by federal contractors against employees who discuss compensation in the workplace.

But without question, we have more to do. The challenge that remains is to make sure our laws and public policies are doing enough to support mothers the way they support us. If we say as a nation that we value mothers, let's take some time this Mother's Day to affirm our commitment to them. Let's help them enjoy the most precious gift of all: time with their families.

Source