Parental leave:Paid parental leave should be equal for both parents once the child is born.Recently, women's rights and women's equality in the workplace have come back to the forefront as a topic of discussion in government agencies and the United Nations. Although a very important topic, when it comes to taking time off from work upon the birth of a new child, women in the United States have certain provisions, while men have none. The Family and Medical Aid Act (FLMA), of 1993, provides for 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for certain specified events (8). Although one could speak of maternity or paternity leave if taken due to pregnancy, this would not be strictly true. Where maternity and paternity leave is offered around the world, it is separate from any other leave for medical or family reasons. In the United States, leave granted through the FLMA is also, as mentioned, unpaid. This creates a number of problems for the expectant family because, although their job is secure during the furlough period, without an income it can be more difficult to care for the newborn as an unpaid parent couple. , rather than as a parent not taking an income. or not taking leave and relying on relatives to care for the child as much as possible. Figure 1 shows the world's leading countries for maternity leave, all offering more than 50 weeks, as well as Serbia and Denmark at 100% of salary. . In other countries, the duration and percentage of salary differ, but as Amanda Peterson Beadle points out in her article for the website ThinkProgress, "out of 178 countries, the United States is one of three that does not offer no paid maternity leave benefits.” not to mention paid leave for fathers. (6)Figure 1 – Top four countries for paid maternity leave...... middle of article ......erview), 2013, website Hensegard, Jens, For Paternity Leave, Sweden asks if two months is enough, WSJ (Wall Street Journal), July 31, 2012, Print(5) Maltais, Michelle, Maternity leave in America: where do we stand? (http://articles.latimes.com/2014/jan/16/news/la-sh-maternity-leave-benefit-20140115), Los Angeles Times, 2014, website(6) Peterson Beadle, Amanda, Comment le zero weeks of paid maternity leave in the United States compares globally (thinkprogress.org/health/2012/05/24/489973/paid-maternity-leave-us/), ThinkProgress, 2012, website (7) The Telegraph, Maternity leave is a burden for many women (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/9602859/Maternity-leave-is-a-burden-for-many-women- says-thoughtank-director.html), 2012, website (8) U.S. Department of Labor, Family and Medical Leave Act – Wage and Hour Division (WHD) (http://www.dol.gov/ whd/fmla/), 2013, website