Paid Family Leave & 

 
Women’s Economic Empowerment  
Women comprise the majority of the electorate and their concerns about sexual harassment, 
equality, and representation are dominating the national conversation. Paid family leave is a 
public policy solution that can help address the institutional structures that hinder equity and lead 
to toxic workplace environments. Strong, accessible, gender-neutral paid family leave policies 
empower women in the workplace and support economic security. Equal paid family leave 
policies are critical in order to close the wage gap, advance women in leadership, and 
compensate women for their unpaid labor.  
 

 
The Problem: ​Women are grossly underrepresented in leadership 
at the workplace, are less likely to advance in their careers than 
men, and experience a widening pay gap as their careers progress.  
 

For more information​ contact Jenna Mowat at ​jenna@paidleave.us​ or 510-206-3901. 

PLUS Fund: Paid Leave for the United States is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. Visit us online at ​paidleave.us​.
The Solution: ​Equal, accessible, and adequate paid family leave 
policy has been shown to narrow the wage gap, increase women in 
leadership, and grow the economy. 

When everyone has access to paid family leave policies, women’s 

workforce participation increases​ ​and the gender pay gap 
decreases. In fact, one of the best ways to grow the economy is 
through retaining more women in the workforce. When Google 
increased its paid parental leave program, for example, the rate of 
female turnover after taking parental leave was reduced by 50%.  
 
When men also have — and take — paid family leave, gender 
equality grows both at home and the workplace. ​The World 
Economic Forum found that countries that offer paternity leave 
are the most successful in narrowing the wage gap between men 
and women. 
 
Suggested Talking Points 
 

● Women are a vital part of the U.S. workforce, but still make 
as little as 54 cents on the dollar compared to men. When 
everyone has access to paid family leave studies show that 
the gender wage gap decreases and women’s workforce 
participation increases -- a win-win solution!  

● Because of the gender wage gap, women lose hundreds of 

thousands of dollars over their careers -- that adds up $840 
billion that women and their families miss out on, and that 
doesn’t get reinvested into our economy. 

● Closing the wage gap through policies like paid family leave would ensure that families 
have greater financial security, and boost our nation’s economy. Unless our leaders 
address this inequity with solutions like paid family leave, the U.S. wage gap is not 
projected to close until 2059.  

 
Citations: McKinsey, “​Women in the Workplace​.,” AAUW. “​The Simple Truth about the General Pay Gap​. 
Center for American Progress,. “​The Cost of Work-Family Policy Inaction: Quantifying the Costs Families Currently Face as a Result of 
Lacking U.S. Work-Family Policies.​”New York Times, “ ​In Google’s Inner Circle, a Falling Number of Women​.” Rutgers University, Center 
for American Women and Politics, “​ Gender Differences in Voter Turnout (2017).”​ World Economic Forum, “​ The Global Gender Gap 
Report (2015).”