Bringing a new baby home calls for a time of readjusting and bonding, but in two-income households, it’s often hard to find time for this, especially for fathers. Josh Levs, a journalist, father of three, and author of the book All In: How our work-first culture fails dads, families, and businesses – and how we can fix it together, explains his own experience fighting for paternity leave and why it’s important for families, businesses, and the economy.
Traditional gender stereotypes dictate that mothers stay home with the baby while dads go to work, but Levs says modern families need to make that choice for themselves. According to Lev, only 14% of companies presently offer paid paternity leave, and the time offered is getting shorter and shorter. But he argues that once the baby is born, the father is just as important and helpful to family life as the mother.
Levs knows the paternity leave struggle first hand. While working at Time Warner, he protested the company paternity leave policy based on gender discrimination, citing the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Because of his complaint, the company ended up changing their policy.
Levs went on to author All In to explain to other parents how they too can go about fighting for their own paid family leave. In the book, Levs details the Family Act bill, which would allow employees to pay into a fund for when paid leave is needed. While the Family Act would only address paid leave on a governmental level, Levs says private businesses are finding that paid family leave is advantageous for them. In many cases, it helps attract and keep the high-quality employees.
For more information or for your own copy of Levs’ book, visit the links below.
Guest Information:
- Josh Levs, journalist, father of three, and author of the book All In: How our work-first culture fails dads, families, and businesses – and how we can fix it together.
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