“Working Mother magazine’s 100 Best Companies has become a showcase for businesses that understand the importance of making it possible for mothers to both succeed in their jobs and care for their families. When I created it in 1986, that was a foreign concept. Then and now, the winning businesses recognize that workplace policies that support working moms are not only good for families, but also good for business. But this realization is not universal among businesses; only 13 percent have paid family and medical leave through their employers, and fewer than 40 percent have medical leave through short-term disability programs. When the Family and Medical Leave Act passed 20 years ago, guaranteeing some workers access to 12 weeks of unpaid leave, along with many others, I assumed that by now this leave would be paid. But it isn’t, and workers are still struggling to make ends meet when they need to take leave.The FAMILY Act would make it possible for women and men around the country to take paid leave in order to recover from illness, care for a sick family member, or bond with a new child. If enacted, this policy would soon prove to employers what many successful businesses already know: profits and policies that support working families can and do go hand-in-hand.”
Carol Evans, President
