The Maternal Wall in Corporate America: Why the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 Is Failing Mothers Today (thesis)

Abstract

The Swedish government experienced success with their family leave policies because they were designed to promote gender equality and were implemented in a way that would actually encourage the policy's success. When H.R. 2 was debated in Congress, women in America were lacking the necessary representation to push the problems women were actually facing. According to a report published by the Congressional Research Service, only 33 women were serving in the 102nd Congress, a number that has since risen to 104 women with the 114th Congress (Manning, Brudnick, and Shogan 4-5). The alleged problem solvers serving in the 102nd Congress did not discuss the challenges women face, the people who need family leave, or why a cultural change was truly necessary in 1991-1992. This lack of discussion implies that there was a massive political disconnect between the policy makers, or problem solvers, and the actual problem. Women need representation in Congress that will actually make the conversation about gender inequality and the needs of modern women today. [From Conclusion]