The U.S. may have the biggest economy in the world, but in one area it is a loser: it’s one of the only countries that do not guarantee paid leave for new mothers. For many people, that’s a powerful symbol of the nation’s failure to support women, especially when compared with Nordic countries where new mothers get up to a year or two to look after their babies. (MORE: There Is No Such Thing as the ‘Traditional Male Breadwinner’) But almost all public policies have unintended consequences, and maternity leave is no exception. Rather than offering a route to equality between the sexes, the data shows, extended maternity leave actually throws up roadblocks in a woman’s career — the very roadblocks that such policies are meant to prevent. Obviously, career trajectory is not the only reason to establish paid maternity leave. It also improves children’s health and well-being. It makes women happier. Every international organization that ranks women’s well-being puts generous maternity leave at the top of its wish list of policies. We’ve all heard about the seemingly Arcadian maternal leaves in the Nordic countries. In Norway, new mothers can get 47 weeks off. Finland gives less, only 42 paid weeks, but the country has still been ranked No. 1 in Save the Children’s “State of the World’s Mothers” rankings. Sweden gives 480 days at about 80% of a woman’s former salary; the time can be used at any point until a child’s eighth birthday. Denmark may take the prize: it offers mothers a full year at full pay. (MORE: Do Women Really Want Equality?) Economists generally agree that these laws have helped bring more mothers back to the office, as they were designed to do. Close to 85% of women ages 25 to 54 were in the labor force in that part of northern Europe as of 2010; Sweden’s 87.5% may be the highest percentage of women in the workforce in the world, compared with 93.6% of Swedish men. In the U.S., by contrast, 75.2% of women are working, compared with … Continue reading Longer Maternity Leave Not So Great for Women After All