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I hope this email triggers an out-of-office auto-reply.

Maybe you’ve even escaped to a beach, the great outdoors, or just your backyard with a cold drink. Wherever you are, I hope you’re able to take a breath — because you deserve it. And in much of the world, paid time off to recharge and live your life isn’t a luxury, it’s a right.

For this edition of The First Word, we’re looking at snapshots from around the world — in particular, countries that are getting it right when it comes to paid leave and child care. No one country is perfect on these issues, but at a time when progress feels too slow, these examples show us what’s possible. They’re living proof that it’s not some far-fetched dream to build a society where moms are valued, where families can thrive, and where governments treat care like the economic engine it is.

Let’s take a trip.

 
 
We Can Do A Lot Better, And These Countries Prove It

Embarrassing.

When it comes to supporting families, that’s the only word that captures how the United States stacks up to our peers on the world stage. A report by the Organisation for Co-operation and Economic Development looked at over 40 nations on these issues, and America ranked dead last — the only wealthy nation in the world not to guarantee paid family leave of any kind.

And while some individual states have taken the lead, picking up slack from the federal government, we’re still talking about just 13 states (and Washington, D.C.) that have paid leave policies on the books, representing barely one-third of the population. Because of this policy gap, one in four American moms return to work within two weeks of giving birth.

On child care, the reality is just as dreary. We’ve talked a lot about the fact that America is currently experiencing a child care crisis. In all 50 states, it costs more to pay for child care than housing. One recent survey found that 55% of parents have gone into debt to pay for child care. And right now, it looks like things could get worse before they improve, with costs continuing to rise and child care providers facing staff shortages and ongoing budget threats.

This isn’t just a pocketbook crisis for families. It hurts the economy, with the lack of affordable access to care leading to lost productivity among parents and forcing some moms out of the workforce entirely. It’s estimated that, for the national economy, it all adds up to $122 billion (with a B!) in lost earnings and revenue every single year.

More than anything else, this crisis is failing our children, who deserve high-quality attention and care at a formative stage of their lives. When we know that a child’s brain is 90% developed before they even turn five, how can we look ourselves in the mirror and let this crisis continue?

The good news is we don’t have to. I hope your bags are packed, because it’s time to go on a tour to see how other nations are leading the way.

Sweden

  • Parental Leave: A single parent is guaranteed 480 days of paid parental leave per child — both parents are reserved 90 days each, and up to 45 days of the total can be transferred to a grandparent. It’s also estimated that 30% of parental leave is taken by the father. 
  • Child Care: Public child care is heavily subsidized, and costs are capped based on parents’ income and how many children they have. 

France

  • Parental leave: Mothers get 16 weeks of paid maternity leave, and both parents can access shared parental leave until the child turns three, though uptake is still skewed toward moms.
  • Child Care: France offers a robust system of subsidized child care, including crèches (family-run daycares), assistantes maternelles (certified childminders), and universal pre-K (écoles maternelles) from age three. The country also offers monthly family allowances for families with at least two dependent kids.

Japan

Spain

  • Parental Leave: Spain offers 17 weeks of paid leave for each parent — and fathers are required to take six weeks off after a child is born. Spain also passed a law in 2023 granting paid leave for menstrual pain — one of the first in the world to do so.
  • Child Care: Affordable public education starts before kids even turn one, with near-universal free public preschool kicking in at age three.

New Zealand

  • Parental Leave: New Zealand offers 26 weeks of paid parental leave and guarantees job protection for up to a full year of leave. 
  • Child Care: Families receive weekly Best Start payments for each child under three, and lower-income families are eligible for significant child care subsidies.


The government recently expanded early childhood education access with 20 hours a week of free preschool for all children ages three to five.

Denmark

  • Parental Leave: Danish parents share 52 weeks of paid leave, and recently changed its policy to earmark 11 weeks for each parent to encourage gender balance.
  • Child Care: Public child care is high-quality, accessible, and affordable for kids starting around six months — with fees capped at no more than 25% of the actual cost of care (and sometimes much lower).

Canada

  • Parental Leave: Canadians choose between two different levels of paid leave that can be shared between parents — a standard benefit that pays out for up to 12 months, or extended leave, which offers a lower benefit for up to 18 months. Provinces like Quebec already have universal child care which has led in part to a smaller gender pay gap and some of the highest rates of female labor force participation.
  • Child Care: Canada is in the process of rolling out a nationwide $10-a-day child care plan that uses government subsidies to keep early childhood education affordable. 
     

Germany

  • Parental Leave: In Germany, both parents can share up to 14 months of paid leave, with two months reserved for the second parent to encourage equitable caregiving. 
  • Child Care: Starting in infancy, families have universal access to publicly funded early childhood education, with income-based subsidies. Families also receive Kindergeld, a monthly, per-child stipend to help families cover costs.
     

 
Anyone else feeling a little jealous of these other countries?

Let them inspire us to take action to improve life for families here in America. Here are two things you can do right now:

  1. Go to PaidLeave.ai to see if your state offers paid leave and see what benefits you might be entitled to as a parent.
  2. If your state doesn’t, email your member of Congress using this simple form and urge them to prioritize it.



Thanks for going around the world with me this week. Other nations have figured this out. It’s time the U.S. stopped being the cautionary tale and started being the example.

Let’s use our voices to get what our parents and families deserve.

 
Until America shows up for families,
Reshma Saujani