Josh Levs: Why Maternity and Paternity Leave Are Important for Families and Businesses
1,239 views · Published 18 June 2015 · 3:12 · Indexed 6 November 2026
Channel: FOX 5 New York · 2015 · News & Politics
Are we really so far behind that we need science to tell us that men are absolutely capable of taking care of children? Josh Levs asks that question in his new book, "All In." Levs argues that our work-first culture is failing families and businesses. He says we need both paid maternity and paternity leave. He believes our lack of paid parental leave in this country is entirely based on the presumption that women are going to stay home and men are going to work. He suggests America create a policy in which families have options. Levs believes that is best for business as well as for men, women, and children. And he's not alone. Parental leave is a hot topic. Just last week, Richard Branson announced that Virgin Group will offer some employees up to a year of paid parental leave. Last month, TOMS Shoes founder Blake Mycoskie told Glamour Magazine that taking paternity leave changed his life. And who can forget the fallout last season when New York Mets third baseman Daniel Murphy decided to take three days off to be with his wife when she had their son? Levs and his family are passionate about the subject because they've been there, too. When he was working at Time Warner in 2013, Levs was given just two weeks of paid leave when his third child was born, in spite of the company's 10-week parental leave policy. Levs says the policy was extremely unusual. Anyone could get 10 weeks of paid leave for caregiving, unless they were a man whose wife just gave birth. Levs filed a claim with the EEOC and won. A year later Time Warner changed its policy. Now he is arguing that our country needs federally mandated family leave. He says it is better for families and for businesses because sometimes the best person for the job is a woman, so why would you want a structure that pushes women to stay home and men to stay at work? He also says that when you offer paid family leave, fewer people drop out of the workforce, which means more people are contributing to corporate productivity and creating tax revenue. --ALISON MORRIS
