U.S. Only Developed Nation Without Paid Parental Leave

The U.S. is the only country in the 41 developed nations that do not universally offer paid parental leave.

According to a study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), all other nations surveyed mandate some degree of paid leave for new parents, with the smallest amount of leave in any other nation at approximately two months, reports Pew Research.

Estonia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Japan, Lithuania, Austria, Czech Republic, Latvia, Norway and Slovakia all offer more than one year of paid leave, with Estonia topping out the list at one and half years.

In 19 of the 41 countries, most of the paid leave is for maternity, with Cyprus, Israel, Turkey, Ireland, Switzerland and New Zealand offering only paid maternity leave and no leave available for new fathers.

Others offer some combination of maternity leave and paternity leave, both of which are available around the time of a birth or adoption, and parental leave, which is available after maternity or paternity leave and sometimes is only allocated for mothers or fathers.

Though mothers are typically offered more leave than fathers, 31 of the 41 countries specifically offer leave for fathers, though it is usually much lower than maternal leave, at approximately two weeks or fewer.

This is not the case in all of the countries, however. Nearly half of the 30 weeks of paid leave for parents in Japan is allocated to fathers, while new fathers in Korea receive 16 weeks of paid leave. Men in Portugal, Norway, Luxembourg and Iceland get around two months or more after having a baby.

Most countries use a system similar to social security to foot the bill for family leave, though a few countries also require their employers to pay some of it. And not all countries reimburse new parents for their total salaries – though many do – with some only compensating them for less than 30 percent of their wages.

While some U.S. businesses opt to offer their employees paid family leave, and California, New Jersey and Rhode Island have state-mandated leave, only 13 percent of U.S. workers have access to paid family leave through their employers, notes the National Partnership for Women and Families.

​Sources: Pew Research, National Partnership for Women and Families / Photo Credit: Ernest F/Wikimedia Commons