Opinion: What moms really want for Mother’s Day

Catherine Bailey is the chairwoman of the Campaign for Paid Family Leave.

As Mother’s Day approaches, many of us shop for a thoughtful gift to show the mothers in our lives a special token of appreciation. Perhaps flowers, chocolate truffles, or a blooming plant for her garden.

But most mothers would sacrifice a new charm bracelet for laws that support their ability to better balance work and family. Mothers dream of things like affordable and available child care, equal distribution of care-giving responsibilities, jobs that pay a livable wage so they afford groceries and rent, and workplaces that support their dual roles as breadwinners and caregivers.

One policy with a chance of success in Connecticut that would be a true gift to mothers is paid family and medical leave.

Paid maternity leave, one facet of this larger policy, is not just a liberal European trend. The United States should be ashamed that is the only advanced country that does not provide some form of paid maternity leave for new mothers. Most African countries’ policies average between 12-14 weeks of leave at 100 percent of wages and Puerto Rico’s policy has been in place since 1942

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