The US federal government does not provide employees paid maternity or paternity leave to care for newborns. In fact, the US is one of only a few industrialized nations that does not have a law mandating paid maternity leave for all citizens.
President Obama should support paid maternity and paternity leave for all working families and can start by signing an executive order granting at least 12 weeks of paid maternity and paternity leave to full-time US federal workers. The US government should be a shining example of how all employers should support working families.