Stefan Sultan, a freshman majoring in international affairs, is a Hatchet opinions writer.
Soon, employees in the District may have the most generous paid family leave policy in the country, thanks to legislation that the D.C. Council is currently considering. This would include GW employees, who would receive 16 weeks of paid leave.
But as with any legislation, passage isn’t a guarantee. Fortunately for the staff at GW, they are already part of the 11 percent of U.S. workers who receive paid parental leave. While GW’s policy of giving full-time staff members paid family leave should be applauded, the six weeks they offer is too short, and, if the D.C. Council doesn’t mandate the extension, GW should expand the paid leave it offers to its staff and faculty.
The University should offer a period of leave more in sync with those offered by our peer schools, including Georgetown University, Tufts University and the University of Southern California, all of which offer their employees a prolonged period for paid leave: between eight and 12 weeks.
Allowing new parents spend time with their children after birth or adoption has been proven to have significant impacts on parents’ health. Studies have found that taking more than 12 weeks of paid leave is connected to an increase in energy for new mothers. Taking 15 weeks reduces the chances of depression, and for every month parental leave was shortened, it increased the prospect of of impaired motor or social skills for the child.
Paid parental leave has been shown to benefit parents economically, as well. Research has found that because of paid parental leave, more parents choose to take off to spend time with their new child, making them more likely return to work after their leave is over. That alone can increase the weekly hours and pay of new mothers by 10 percent.
If the University were to extend leave, faculty and staff would be able to spend more time with their new children, allowing them to form a stronger connection. And that means GW wouldn’t have to waste resources hiring new employees, as this elongated leave would increase the chance of employees returning to GW.
In light of the D.C. Council’s proposal, several student groups – such as the Roosevelt Institute, the Feminist Student Union and the Progressive Student Union – have backed this new policy. The support by these groups shows an appetite among students for the University to extend this beneficial and family friendly policy, and GW should listen.
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