USA corporate Policies Hostile towards Working Women who are Homemakers?

Based on survey conducted by TheNYtimes/ CBS News/ Kaiser Family Foundation poll.

The latest survey, gathering statistical as well as empirical data on the employment details of the country, found that most formerly employed US Women had to quit their jobs when they had a baby, as their companies only granted 12 weeks of paid maternity leave.

This company policy seems highly inadequately thought of, compared to other European countries like the UK, France and Germany, which grant up to one year of almost fully paid leave, so that women can attend to their familial responsibilities, especially at the time of birth. These companies not only grant leeway to their permanent employees, but also their part-time employees, in order to further the cause of employment for women.

Women in the US find 12 weeks insufficient to sort their situations out at home, and find it difficult to bear the costs of daycare centres- a service they would have no option but to employ in order to find middle-ground between raising their child and keeping their jobs. They would have found the option OK for a 1-year-old child, but not for a 12-week-old infant. And most women, who were unemployed and between the ages of 25 and 54, shared the same thoughts.

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The US, that once had the top rate for employed women between that bracket, known as the prime-age bracket, at 74 percent, has now fallen below many countries like Switzerland, Germany and Australia, at 69 percent. Canada and Japan have performed better than the US too. According to the empirical data collected, 61 percent of all the unemployed, prime-aged women said that they had to give up their jobs because of responsibilities at home, and most of them opined that they yearn to go back to work, but the corporate policies allow little or no consideration in terms of flexibility in working hours for women who are homemakers.

While Europe has constantly been formulating policies like subsidized child care, generous parental leaves and taxation of families instead of individuals, there is also increased social acceptance of employed homemaker women.  Yet, all the perks offered do have a downside- as women who have been away find it hard to keep up and may get stuck at junior level jobs. Whereas in the US, women who just work, as opposed to doing both, tend to be more successful.

However, that does not seem to compensate, and women would like to have the options at the least. The going gets exceptionally tough for the lesser qualified, lower income women.  If the cost of child-care exceeds what they are bringing in from work, the whole exercise is just counterproductive.

-As researched by the New York Times.