On Wednesday, the journalists on CBS Evening News complained about the United States's maternity polices and unfavorably compared America to countries such as Micronesia and Tonga. Anchor Scott Pelley noted Netflix's decision allow a year of leave. Reporter Jim Axelrod then chided, "The U.S. is the only western developed country not requiring companies to offer paid maternity leave, joining countries like Papua New Guinea, Micronesia, and Tonga."
Axelrod featured Morgan Baden, a vice president at Scholastic, to complain, "I personally think that's a travesty. I think the U.S. could do so much more in valuing motherhood." Of course, there are a few obvious differences between America and these countries.
Micronesia's unemployment rate is 22 percent. In comparison, America's was 5.5 percent in June of 2015. Tonga's unemployment rate is 13 percent.
In 2009, Good Morning America bashed the U.S. for maternity leave policies, connecting the U.S. to Swaziland and Liberia. In May of 2015, Meet the Press's Chuck Todd pushed the United States to be more like Norway on this topic.
It wasn't until the very end of the August 5 Evening News segment that Axelrod cited an expert and allowed "...What makes sense for a high-tech company swimming in cash in Silicon Valley may not work for a rust-belt manufacturer."
A transcript of the August 5 segment is below:
6:30 tease
SCOTT PELLEY: It's a blockbuster for Netflix employees, up to a year of paid leave for new parents.
...
6:40:00PELLEY: Netflix stock hit another record high today, but the video streaming service made even bigger news. It raised the bar for employee benefits, offering new parents up to a year of paid leave, unpaid. Federal law requires most employers to provide up to 12 weeks, unpaid. Here's Jim Axelrod.
JIM AXELROD: Even in the Silicon Valley culture of nap rooms, free food, and game rooms, Netflix's year of paid leave is a game-changing benefit. This move shatters the already-generous policies of other tech companies. Google, up to 18 weeks of paid maternity leave. Facebook, four months to all parents. Instagram and Reddit give 17 weeks to new mom and dads. It may be what's necessary to keep and retain talent in the youth-dominated digital world. Carol Sladek is a benefits consultant with 29 years in human resources. Do the generation of people having babies now, new mothers and fathers, have different expectations than their parents did for parental leave?
CAROL SLADEK: I think you hit on something. They think there are some generational differences. I think, certainly, we all have heard a lot about millennials and how they're approaching the workforce differently.
AXELROD: The U.S. is the only western developed country not requiring companies to offer paid maternity leave, joining countries like Papua New Guinea, Micronesia, and Tonga.
MORGAN BADEN: I personally think that's a travesty. I think the U.S. could do so much more in valuing motherhood.
AXELROD: Morgan Baden had her daughter Matilda nine months ago. She's a VP at the publisher Scholastic which provides four months off at full pay, then two more months of working part time, but still getting full pay.
BADEN: I absolutely take into consideration Scholastic's maternity policy when planning the rest of my career, and it's a big draw as to why I'm staying at Scholastic.
AXELROD: Which means what Netflix announced might be the most extreme version of a trend that will be felt far beyond Silicon Valley. Is that going to force the more traditional companies, old-school corporations to increase their leaves?
SLADEK: It might. It might be a contagious sort of thing. So some of this is just good, old-fashioned business. You do what you feel as an employer you need to do to be able to attract the right talent and to be able to keep the right talent.
AXELROD: But Sladek says what makes sense for a high-tech company swimming in cash in Silicon Valley may not work for a rust-belt manufacturer. The goal for all may be work-life balance, but that could be better achieved for some companies through flex time and vacation policies as opposed to expanding paid maternity leave. Scott.
