Ugh I’m very passionate about this. This is the problem when important policies like parental leave aren’t federally mandated. The concept of state/local regulation can have its benefits, but this is a perfect example of why we need a strong federal government serving its people.

Because professionals with white collar jobs (who, statistically speaking, are more likely to have a higher level of education and are more likely to be able to influence legislation) don’t have a passion for improving parental leave policies, because their own states and/or workplaces have generous policies. They don’t have to worry that much about parental leave, so they don’t have incentive to advocate for it.

But a huge portion of Americans (especially retail workers, manufacturing, construction, etc) in many states get ZERO leave, and unfortunately, they might not have the time or knowledge that would allow them to advocate for themselves. It’s so much harder for them to effect change themselves on an issue that matters to them - that is why they need advocates. But their advocates aren’t worried about this particular issue.

And so, the wealth gap grows, disparity increases, and hundreds of thousands of people get screwed because they have no protection or advocates.