Podcast 110 – Meghan Markle urges Federal Politicians to enact a Right to Paid Leave Policy

In an open letter to the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, Meghan asks for all politicians, be they Republicans or Democrats,  to unite to enact a Paid Leave Policy as part of what is being considered under the latest U.S.  budget bill negotiations.

Meghan wrote, she said,  not as an elected official nor as a politician,  but as a mother - advocating alongside groups such as  https://paidleaveforall.org/ for rights for parents and caregivers to be able to be able to spend the first few months at home with their babies,  rather than having to rush back to work, due to the fact that they need their wages to financially survive.

In her letter Meghan writes of her own humble upbringing and how her family appreciated the value of money. Meghan says how lucky she and Harry now are in their own lives such that after the birth of Archie and Lili, when they were both overjoyed and overwhelmed, they did not to have to face the dilemma of having to choose between staying at home with their baby without pay, versus going back to work - this being the harsh reality for many parents in America. 

Per the Paid Leave for All website, the U.S. is one of the only countries in the world without a national paid leave policy , which meant that when the pandemic hit, the U.S. were unprepared.  They add that nearly one in four employed mothers return to work within two weeks of giving birth,  and one in five retirees leave the workforce earlier than planned to care for an ill family member. 

Meghan adds her voice to this campaign writing that  "paid leave should be a national right, rather than a patchwork option limited to those whose employers have policies in place, or those who live in one the few States in the U.S.  where a leave program exists".

Meghan’s letter was written as the same time that a group of Democrats in the Senate and House sent their own letter to President Biden, Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi, urging them to include a more robust family and medical paid leave program in the legislation.

This group of Democrats argue that a national paid leave program must cover “all workers” because “at one point or another, nearly everyone will need to take leave from work to give or receive care, whether it’s to welcome a new child, be there for an aging parent or loved one, or to recover from their own major surgery, serious illness like cancer or substance use disorder." 

Something that Meghan did not point out in her own letter but which was mentioned in other reports on this issue,  is that workers who do currently have access to paid leave in the U.S. are disproportionately the higher-paid employees at large companies and that Black and Latino workers are likely not to have access to the benefit. 

Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili. You can reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongolo

Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo.

Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/