WHEN Ivanka Trump described her father as a “tremendous champion of supporting families” in Berlin last week, she was jeered. She was referring to Donald Trump’s positions on paid family leave and women in the workplace; her audience had more his misogynistic language in mind. Yet on paid family leave the president should not be dismissed—during last year’s campaign he became the first Republican presidential nominee to tout a national paid maternity leave plan.
Nothing has come of his proposal yet and no mention was made of it in Mr Trump’s first budget. Perhaps that it is a good thing; Mr Trump’s suggested plan needs improvement. It would give women six weeks paid leave after giving birth; it does not mention fathers. That could harm women’s prospects at work, by making employers reluctant to hire women of child-bearing age. There are signs of a possible rethink on this. In his first official speech to Congress in February Mr Trump said his administration wanted “to help ensure new parents have paid family leave”. Ms Trump has since suggested that she wants the leave to be available to men as well as women.
Mr Trump has said the leave will be funded through savings...Continue reading
Source: United States http://ift.tt/2pLbcVG
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