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Parental Leave: Policy and Practice Amanda Parr University of South Florida, [email protected]

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Parental Leave: Policy and Practice Amanda Parr University of South Florida, Aparr2@Mail.Usf.Edu University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School January 2012 Parental Leave: Policy and Practice Amanda Parr University of South Florida, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the Family, Life Course, and Society Commons, Other Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons, and the Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons Scholar Commons Citation Parr, Amanda, "Parental Leave: Policy and Practice" (2012). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/4382 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Parental Leave: Policy and Practice by Amanda L. Parr A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of Anthropology College of Arts and Sciences University of South Florida Major Professor: Nancy Romero-Daza, Ph.D. Angela Stuesse, Ph.D. Kevin Yelvington, D.Phil. Date of Approval: November 15, 2012 Keywords: Maternity Leave, Paternity Leave, Family Leave, Parents, United States, Leave Policy Copyright © 2012, Amanda L. Parr Dedication For all the support given to me throughout the years spent working toward this degree, I give heartfelt thanks to my family and friends. Your encouragement and inspiration strengthened my resolve time and again. I dedicate this paper to my beloved daughter, Katharine, who has given me more to be grateful for than I ever could have imagined. Acknowledgements I wish to thank Dr. Romero-Daza for her sharing her knowledge and her patience, as both a professor and an advisor, as I progressed through the program. Her consultations kept me focused and on track. I also wish to thank Dr. Yelvington for his engaging theoretical coursework, which sharpened my analytic skills, and for insightfully reminding me that the many hours spent on my academic efforts were setting a tremendous example for my daughter. In addition, I thank Dr. Stuesse for her thoughtful comments on my research and manuscript, and for encouraging me to think big in future endeavors. In conducting this research, I had the good fortune of working with an obstetric group practice that supported my study and that generously allowed me access to their facilities in an effort to recruit participants; I am grateful for their kindness and assistance. Finally, I wish to express my gratitude to the moms and dads who shared their time and their stories. i Table of Contents List of Tables ................................................................................................................ iii Abstract ................................................................................................................ iv Chapter One: Introduction ............................................................................................... 1 A Note on the Term “Family” ................................................................................ 5 Structure of the Thesis ......................................................................................... 6 Potential Contributions of This Research ............................................................. 8 Chapter Two: Review of the Literature on Parental Leave ............................................... 9 Parental Leave Throughout the World .................................................................. 9 Benefits of Parental Leave ................................................................................. 13 Effects on Parents .................................................................................. 13 Child Health and Development ............................................................... 15 Breastfeeding ......................................................................................... 17 Parental Leave and the Workplace .................................................................... 19 Does Parental Leave Have an Impact on the Workplace? ...................... 20 Fathers and Parental Leave ............................................................................... 21 Chapter Three: Theoretical Framework ......................................................................... 26 Anthropology of Policy ....................................................................................... 26 Advocacy Anthropology ..................................................................................... 29 Anthropologic View of Parental Leave ................................................................ 33 The Intersection of Gender Roles, Worker Roles, & Reproduction ......... 34 Political Economy – Availability and Accessibility of Parental Leave ....... 37 Embodiment ........................................................................................... 39 Chapter Four: Parental Leave in the Current U.S. Societal and Cultural Context ........... 42 The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993........................................................ 43 FMLA Definition and History ................................................................... 43 Eligibility Requirements for Workers ....................................................... 44 Implications of the FMLA for Workers ..................................................... 46 Use of Parental Leave ............................................................................ 47 State-Level Policies ........................................................................................... 48 Other Efforts to Improve Parental Leave ............................................................ 50 Motherhood, Fatherhood, and the Work-Home Dynamic ................................... 52 Chapter Five: Methods .................................................................................................. 57 Recruitment ....................................................................................................... 59 Site Description .................................................................................................. 60 Data Collection .................................................................................................. 60 Data Analysis ..................................................................................................... 62 Methods Limitations ........................................................................................... 63 ii Chapter Six: Results ...................................................................................................... 65 Respondent Demographics ................................................................................ 65 Finances ............................................................................................................ 67 “What is best for our family” – Individuality in Making Choices ........................... 69 Bonding ............................................................................................................. 72 Breastfeeding ..................................................................................................... 74 Societal Expectations ......................................................................................... 76 “It’s great, but…” – Reflections on the FMLA ...................................................... 77 Chapter Seven: Discussion and Recommendations ...................................................... 80 The Anthropological Perspective ........................................................................ 82 Study Limitations and Ethical Concerns ............................................................. 85 Potential Applications ......................................................................................... 86 Applying Parental Leave Research in a Broader Context ....................... 87 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 90 References ............................................................................................................... 93 Appendix: IRB Approval .............................................................................................. 105 iii List of Tables Table 1: Calculating full-rate equivalent of paid maternity, paternity, and parental leave, 2007/2008 ....................................................................................................... 11 iv Abstract Parental leave is a broad term that encompasses maternity and/or paternity leave to care for an infant. Parental leave provides job protection for workers and may be paid or unpaid, with provisions varying throughout the world. Every industrialized nation offers some form of paid parental leave, with the exception of the United States, whose only federal policy regarding parental leave is the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), a law that allows eligible workers to take up to twelve weeks of unpaid, job protected leave for the birth or adoption of a child. This research project explored how parents understand and navigate the process of parental leave in the United States, and, using an anthropological perspective, situated these narratives into the overall framework of parental leave policy and use in this country. Data were collected through surveys (N=32) and in-depth, semi-structured interviews
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