{"id":3581,"date":"2025-12-18T13:58:44","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T21:58:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/?p=3581"},"modified":"2025-12-19T14:50:24","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T22:50:24","slug":"time-well-spent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/time-well-spent\/","title":{"rendered":"Time Well Spent: The Case for Paid Family Leave"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n \n
\n \n \n
\n \n \n
\n\n \n

Time Well Spent: The Case for Paid Family Leave<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n \n December 18, 2025<\/span>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n \n
\n \n \n Share\n <\/span>\n \n \n <\/svg>\n <\/span>\n Copy Link<\/span>\n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/svg>\n <\/span>\n Facebook<\/span>\n <\/a>\n \n \n \n\n<\/svg>\n\n <\/span>\n X<\/span>\n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/svg>\n <\/span>\n LinkedIn<\/span>\n <\/a>\n \n \n \n \n <\/svg>\n <\/span>\n Bluesky<\/span>\n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/svg>\n <\/span>\n Email<\/span>\n <\/a>\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n \n\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n \n \n
\n\n \n

Paid family leave allows parents to bond with their children while supporting their development, health and emotional well-being. Countries with generous family leave policies also report higher workforce retention and gender equality.<\/p>\n

As a result, paid leave shouldn\u2019t be limited to new mothers, experts argue. Psychologist Darby Saxbe<\/a>\u2019s research on \u201cdad brain\u201d is creating awareness that fatherhood deserves far more support than society currently affords it. \u201cUnderstanding the profound neurobiological changes of fatherhood and knowing how transformative this period can be helps us argue that opportunities such as protected time to bond are highly valuable \u2014 and urgently needed,\u201d Saxbe says.<\/p>\n

At a time of declining birth rates, family leave can also influence family planning. \u201cIf raising that first child was easier with government support, people might be more likely to have a second,\u201d says sociologist Jennifer Hook<\/a>. \u201cThe most effective way of moving the needle on fertility is to help people follow through on their intentions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here we look at how family leave policies vary widely around the world. \u2014T.W.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n \n \n
\n\n \n

\"\"<\/h2>\n

Canada<\/h2>\n

Parents share up to 18 months of leave, receiving 55% of pay for the first year.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/h2>\n

China<\/h2>\n

Mandatory 98 day paid maternity leave; many provinces offer 158-day extensions. Paternity leave: 15 days paid.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/h2>\n

Germany<\/h2>\n

Parents receive 14 weeks of fully paid leave, but can share up to three years of leave, partially paid.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/h2>\n

Mexico<\/h2>\n

Mothers receive 100% of their salary for six weeks before and six weeks after the birth.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/h2>\n

Norway<\/h2>\n

49 weeks of fully paid parental leave. Each parent gets a set quota to encourage shared caregiving, and the rest can be split however they choose.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/h2>\n

United Kingdom<\/h2>\n

Parents can share up to 50 weeks total family leave, with 37 weeks paid at a weekly flat amount.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/h2>\n

United States<\/h2>\n

No federally mandated family leave. Most states also offer no paid family leave. However, California operates an insurance program offering 70% to 90% of pay for up to eight weeks, and job protection for up to 12 weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n \n
\n
\n\n \n
\n\n \n

\n Family Matters\n <\/h2>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n
\n\n \n

The surprising science of how family relationships shape our brains, behavior, physiology and health.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n

\n\n \n \n \n\n Read More \n <\/svg>\n<\/a>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n
\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n<\/div>\n\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n \n
\n
\n\n \n
\n\n \n

\n USC Dornsife Magazine\n <\/h2>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n
\n\n \n

Fall 2025 \/ Winter 2026<\/h2>\n

The Family Issue<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n
\n\n \n \n \n\n Back to Issue \n <\/svg>\n<\/a>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n
\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n<\/div>\n\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":970,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTime Well Spent: The Case for Paid Family Leave<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"USC Dornsife scholars explore diverse cultural and religious views on the end of life and the mystery of what may follow.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/time-well-spent\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"After Life: What Happens After We Die?- USC Dornsife Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"USC Dornsife scholars explore diverse cultural and religious views on the end of life and the mystery of what may follow.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/time-well-spent\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"USC Dornsife Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-18T21:58:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-19T22:50:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Letty Avila\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/time-well-spent\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/time-well-spent\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Letty Avila\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/9c5ea0e5498f3ce1654b108c21ac22bb\"},\"headline\":\"Time Well Spent: The Case for Paid Family Leave\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-18T21:58:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-19T22:50:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/time-well-spent\/\"},\"wordCount\":9,\"articleSection\":[\"Article\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/time-well-spent\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/time-well-spent\/\",\"name\":\"After Life: What Happens After We Die?- USC Dornsife Magazine\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-18T21:58:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-19T22:50:24+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/9c5ea0e5498f3ce1654b108c21ac22bb\"},\"description\":\"USC Dornsife scholars explore diverse cultural and religious views on the end of life and the mystery of what may follow.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/time-well-spent\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/time-well-spent\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/time-well-spent\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Time Well Spent: The Case for Paid Family Leave\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/\",\"name\":\"USC Dornsife Magazine\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/9c5ea0e5498f3ce1654b108c21ac22bb\",\"name\":\"Letty Avila\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5a9cd947869956cb8226c2ee320561df2910cf8855f815cc4f8d77fae0c6ec65?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5a9cd947869956cb8226c2ee320561df2910cf8855f815cc4f8d77fae0c6ec65?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Letty Avila\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/author\/lavila\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Time Well Spent: The Case for Paid Family Leave","description":"USC Dornsife scholars explore diverse cultural and religious views on the end of life and the mystery of what may follow.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/time-well-spent\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"After Life: What Happens After We Die?- USC Dornsife Magazine","og_description":"USC Dornsife scholars explore diverse cultural and religious views on the end of life and the mystery of what may follow.","og_url":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/time-well-spent\/","og_site_name":"USC Dornsife Magazine","article_published_time":"2025-12-18T21:58:44+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-12-19T22:50:24+00:00","author":"Letty Avila","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/time-well-spent\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/time-well-spent\/"},"author":{"name":"Letty Avila","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/9c5ea0e5498f3ce1654b108c21ac22bb"},"headline":"Time Well Spent: The Case for Paid Family Leave","datePublished":"2025-12-18T21:58:44+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-19T22:50:24+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/time-well-spent\/"},"wordCount":9,"articleSection":["Article"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/time-well-spent\/","url":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/time-well-spent\/","name":"After Life: What Happens After We Die?- USC Dornsife Magazine","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-12-18T21:58:44+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-19T22:50:24+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/9c5ea0e5498f3ce1654b108c21ac22bb"},"description":"USC Dornsife scholars explore diverse cultural and religious views on the end of life and the mystery of what may follow.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/time-well-spent\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/time-well-spent\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/time-well-spent\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Time Well Spent: The Case for Paid Family Leave"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/","name":"USC Dornsife Magazine","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/9c5ea0e5498f3ce1654b108c21ac22bb","name":"Letty Avila","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5a9cd947869956cb8226c2ee320561df2910cf8855f815cc4f8d77fae0c6ec65?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5a9cd947869956cb8226c2ee320561df2910cf8855f815cc4f8d77fae0c6ec65?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Letty Avila"},"url":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/author\/lavila\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/970"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3581"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3581\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3912,"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3581\/revisions\/3912"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}