The U.S. is the only industrialized and developed nation that does not mandate that parents of newborns get paid leave. In the U.S., federal law allows parents to take three unpaid months, and some employers will allow for more, unpaid. But the law does not mandate that companies pay anyone time to spend with their babies — and many people cannot afford to take time off. Among the countries included in international studies, America is the worst country for maternity leave. The U.S. is one of two of the 185 countries or territories in the world surveyed by the United Nation’s International Labor Organization that does not mandate some form of paid maternity leave for its citizens. By contrast, in France, women on maternity leave receive their full salary for 16 weeks.
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