This guest post is authored by Abby Westbrook, the Executive Director of Collaborate Cleveland.
We live in a complicated country. We pride ourselves on innovation, a deep entrepreneurial spirit, and family values. Yet our current national and Ohio policies around care contradict these values, lagging far behind peer countries and states. We lack the basic policies and care infrastructure to support workers and families—the very people who fuel innovation and entrepreneurism and create strong, healthy families and communities.
Fortunately, there are many proven policy solutions that address this contradiction, policies that support workers and families and make economic sense. One is Paid Family and Medical Leave, also called Paid Leave.
Social Determinants of Work
Paid Family and Medical Leave policies align with the Social Determinants of Work Initiative launched by United Way of Greater Cleveland in 2022. The initiative seeks to strategically advance access to work by:
- mitigating barriers faced by workers;
- promoting employer practices that lead to good jobs; and,
- advocating for policy changes that address systemic barriers.
The economic benefits of paid leave
What exactly is paid leave? It is a policy that acknowledges the basic human need for care. We will all likely need time to care for a sick or dying loved one, to welcome and bond with a new child, or to care for our own medical needs. In these crucial moments—usually the most joy-filled or heartbreaking of our lives—no one should have to choose between giving or receiving care or their economic and job security.
Related: United Way of Greater Cleveland adopts paid parental leave and family medical leave policy
Beyond ethical considerations, the economic benefits of paid leave policies far outweigh the costs; the research is clear. For example, the Pennsylvania State Legislature is currently considering paid leave legislation and did a cost-benefit analysis of the potential policy. The analysis found that paid leave is a solid investment for Pennsylvania, “generating $379M in annual net benefits to PA families, businesses, and the Commonwealth.” Just a few of these annual benefits include 6,836 mothers still at the same employer on their child’s first birthday, 4,628 children lifted out of poverty, and 20 infant lives saved.
Paid leave is so universally accepted that the United States is one of only two countries with no national paid maternity leave benefit. In response to the fundamental need for this benefit and the lack of federal action, 13 states have passed paid leave policies with more considering action. Moreover, employers are increasingly taking this matter into their own hands. In Ohio, Columbus, Cincinnati, and Cleveland have all passed paid parental leave for their respective workforces, and Cuyahoga County recently followed suit.
The work has just begun
While these are commendable and necessary steps, this piecemeal approach is ultimately not an efficient or equitable way to administer paid leave. Nationwide, 73 percent of people working in the U.S. do not have paid leave, and 76 percent of Ohio workers—4.4 million people—are in jobs without the possibility of paid leave. Furthermore, current access to paid leave is highly skewed toward full-time workers with higher incomes and college degrees. Hispanic/Latinx and Black workers are less likely to have access to paid leave than white workers.
While we need employers to engage in and extend paid leave to workers, we ultimately need action at the state or federal government level to ensure all workers have access. The good news is there are opportunities for both, and change is truly possible. We can live like the rest of the world, in a place that values workers, families, economic security, and our collective health and wellbeing.
If you are interested in learning more about advocating for paid leave as an employer, employee, board member, or within your circles of influence, information is available in these advocacy guides at Collaborate Cleveland. You can also follow our work through our mailing list and on social media as we start exploring the potential for a statewide effort.
Abby Westbrook is the Executive Director of Collaborate Cleveland. Abby’s leadership is grounded in her past experiences as a legal advocate at the Homeless Advocacy Project, as a Program Executive at the Atlantic Philanthropies, her realities as a working mother raising two young children, and her belief in the power of collective giving and action.
