Parental Leave Reflection

Final Reflection After spending the fall semester learning and delving deeper into various topics in our Women in Politics course from the early stages of the women's suffrage movement to debating if quotas are a useful tool in getting more women representation. There is no doubt that I personally found most of the topics incredibly interesting and mind changing however there is one topic in particular that opened up doors of multiple explanations of my past. The topic of paid family leave left such a memorable last impression because it deeply resonated with the struggles my family faced throughout my childhood. The insight of my parent's struggles in the past, gave me the opportunity to critically think about current policies in addition
This issue is incredibly important to me because during my childhood, I had the unfortunate experience of witnessing the financial challenges my parents endured, even more so what my mother endured. Her inability in receiving paid parental leave or allowance left her with the unpleasant choice of quitting her job and not returning until four years later, losing another valuable source of income. With the loss of the extra income from my mother, we became dependent on my father leaving no room for extra educational or recreational activities that could have cultivated the learning experiences of my brother and I. Such challenges our family endured and the differences paid parental leave or allowances could have made includes both increased financial and job security. My mother states that had she received extended paid parental leave or an allowance of some form during our early years of childhood, she would have been more actively involved and engaged with our education. Possibly enrolling us in a program that provided extensive educational benefits besides head start (which is government funded).In addition, a family allowance would have helped our family not become so dependent on my father, as not only was he responsible for our expenses,
We can improve as a nation by not only recognizing that the lack of progressive reconciliation policies but also, bringing more attention of these issues to the forefront. Instead of listening for what seems like the hundredth time about presidential candidate Donald Trump, on issues that truly impact American families. However, advocating for paid parental leave comes with its own set of challenges. Such challenges include the ability for businesses in paying for these expenses however that should not be the case. The world health organization recommends that payment should not be received solely from employers but also from other programs. Which in our case, either through social security or by raising taxes. The United States already on its own has a set of challenges waiting ahead in its future, but what we as women do today can most definitely change the landscape that challenge current attitudes towards women and potentially, make a much more lasting impression for further