#ShareTheWork Newsletter (09.25.19)
Can you imagine a world in which women and men share equal caregiving responsibilities? genEquality believes that a society like this is possible, and moreover, we know that in order for an equal society to exist, we must all become part of the cultural shift- change the beliefs, behaviors and practices that maintain these systemic and behavioral imbalances between the treatment of men and women.
Our 10 activations or actions are designed to support the cultural change that are needed to dismantle gender inequality. Today, we invite you to #ShareTheWork.
The reality is, every day women spend more time on unpaid work than men do. Much of that time is spent on caregiving which, in many places in the world, is still expected to be handled by women. Diaper-changing tables are a rarity in men's restrooms, the U.S. as a whole does not offer paid paternity leave, and 86% of all Americans don't have leave at all. Not having diaper-changing tables in men's restrooms and not offering paid paternity leave as a standardized practice reinforces the message that women, not men, should do the caregiving.
Our friends at PL+US (Paid Leave US) are is working toward making paid family leave a true policy reality for everyone in the United States by 2022.
PL+US works to underscore just how much of an impact universal paid family leave could have on our society. Some of the highlights:
26 weeks of paid leave would increase US women's labor force participation to the tune of a 5% increase in GDP. That's a $900B annual increase.
10 weeks of paid maternity leave reduces infant mortality by 10%. That's 2,300 babies possibly saved.
Paid leave in the U.S. is an elite privilege and adding it for everyone would help reduce class inequality. Only 6% of people working low-wage jobs have access to any paid family leave.
The organization has won paid family leave for nearly 6 million individuals already at companies like Walmart, Starbucks, CVS, and more already and is constantly pushing for more.