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Katrina Slaughter

Mrs.Litle

English 121

February 13 2019

Summary & Response

The purpose of the article entitled “The world is getting better at paid maternity leave.

The U.S. is not.” (Melissa Etehad and Jeremy C.F. Lin) is to direct attention to the fact that

America does not have as many benefits for maternity leave as other countries do. This is

indicated by the sentence “Despite having one of the world's most advanced economies, the

United States lags far behind other countries in its policies for expectant mothers.” which can be

found in Paragraph 2. This quote expresses the fact that though the US is advanced in many other

ways, we are still behind in other areas; especially maternity leave.

The main idea is pointing out the benefits that other countries have for maternity leave

that America does not have. This is a massive problem as women at some point in pregnancy

cannot do physical labor or much work at all and during this time they still need their typical

income to support their lifestyle during the pregnancy. There are many supporting points

throughout this article that make it overall very well written.

The first supporting point is the map entitled “Paid maternal leave around the world”

which shows how long women around the world are paid for maternal leave; America being the

lowest of them all; stating that America has no maternal leave.

The second supporting point states that some places require 14 weeks of leave whereas

more advanced economies allow at least 26 weeks of leave. This is a strong point because

America should then be one of these with how advanced our economy is.
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The third supporting point that I think really stands out is the part where it states that

some countries allow 52 weeks of paid leave. Fifty-two weeks; think about that. America offers

barely anything * IF ANYTHING * but about five countries offer 52 weeks and 100% of their

salary. This means that for 52 weeks in some of these countries, a woman will be paid for her

leave at her full pay.

Another point made is that studies show that offering maternity leave can actually boost

economic growth because maternity leave can be viewed as an investment in their economy. For

example, a 2014 study done by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research stated that offering

paid maternal leave policies did infact support economic growth because it gave women job

security. Since America does not do this, there are many women who feel they must make a

choice between family or work which further makes women feel lesser than men in the

workplace.

Response

Firstly, I would like to point out how well this was written. The authors clearly put a lot

of time and research into this and that shows. Throughout the article it relies on ethos and logos
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more than anything as it shows credibility and logic. The sources are cited clearly and even

without the sources the authors show a great amount of knowledge on the topic as is.

That being said, the paper does present itself in a very slanted way as there is no rebutle

presented. The entire article states the same point which is that America is severely behind other

countries when it comes to maternity leave. It would help the article if the opposing side was

shown as well. Still, the article had some strong points.

The point that stood out to me the most was the final image on the article. A chart entitled

“Paid maternal leave around the world” and below that it reads “The quality of maternal leave

has remained the same in 144 countries from 1995 to 2014. However, it has improved in 56

countries.” and in the chart it shows the progression of maternal leave benefits (which countries

it has stayed the same in or increased in. Some have missing data which may make this

somewhat less credible as it is incomplete.)

The second point that I find interesting is the point that states ofering paid maternal leave

policies supports economic growth and as stated earlier; America does not do this which means

there are many women who feel they must make a choice between family or work. This makes

women feel less valued within the workplace.

Works Cited:

Etehad, Melissa, and Lin, Jeremy C.F. “The World Is Getting Better at Paid Maternity Leave. The U.S. Is Not.” The

Washington Post, WP Company, 13 Aug. 2016,


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www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/08/13/the-world-is-getting-better-at-paid-maternity-

leave-the-u-s-is-not/?utm_term=.31fa2331a3dc.

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