Paul Ryan recently became Speaker of the House of Representatives. One of the conditions he established as a requirement for him taking the position equates to what many might consider to be “work/life” balance. Others see it as a sign that paid parental leave is important.
Paul Ryan is a Republican who represents Wisconsin. Paul Ryan ran as Vice President to Mitt Romney in the 2012 Presidential election. He is in his mid-40’s. His immediate family includes his wife, a daughter, and two sons. The children are school-age.
When Paul Ryan was asked to consider becoming Speaker of the House, he created some conditions that would be required if he accepted the position. One of these conditions sounded a lot like a request for paid parental leave.
According to the Washington Post, Paul Ryan said he would delegate much of the job’s travel and fundraising demands if elected to Speaker of the House so that he could spend enough time with his family and school-age children. He said “I cannot and will not give up my family time.”
Paul Ryan got what he wanted. He won’t have to spend three day weekends in Congress, and can instead spend that time with his family. According to Huffington Post, Paul Ryan’s office does have a paid family leave policy in place for his staff. No further details about that policy were given.
So, Paul Ryan wants paid family leave time for himself, and he wants it for his staff. What about other Americans? Paul Ryan voted no on a bill that would allow federal employees to have four weeks of paid paternal leave. It was called the Federal Employees Paid Paternal Leave Act of 2009.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 12% of Americans have access to paid paternal leave. Only 5% of low-wage earners receive paid maternity leave. Individual employers decide whether or not to offer their employees paid parental leave. Only four states offer publicly funded paid maternity leave: California, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.
The noteworthy thing about Paul Ryan’s demand for paid family time is that it brings up the concept of paid parental leave. It makes it clear that both mothers and fathers need to spend time with their families. If it’s something important enough for the Speaker of the House to demand as a condition of his accepting the position – then it is obviously important enough for regular Americans to have access to paid parental leave as well.
Image by Tony Alter on Flickr.
Related Articles at Families.com:
* Investigating Maternity Leave Options
* It’s Time to Think About Work – Life Balance