Leaders at every level recognize that workers should be able to take time from their jobs to care for their own health or family health issues. But policymakers and practitioners need tools to make their case to colleagues and the public, and to ensure access to paid leave for all working families, especially those who need it most. New family and medical leave indicators from diversitydatakids.org can equip leaders with critical data to inform strategies that increase equity and opportunity. 

In collaboration with PolicyLink and Family Values @ Work, we presented a webinar about these indicators and how they can advance cross-sector efforts towards health equity and workers’ economic security. Leaders and researchers at the intersection of public health and work-family policies discussed the importance of rigorous data on state-level access to family and medical leave. The conversation included eligibility and affordability gaps in access to leave, as well as collaborative action to improve access to healthy and equitable employment policies.

Speakers:

• Joseph P. Addabbo, New York State Senator
• Ellen Bravo, Executive Director of Family Values @ Work
• Renee Boynton-Jarrett, Associate Professor of Pediatrics & Director, Vital Village Network at Boston Medical Center/Boston University
• Pamela Joshi, Policy Research Director of diversitydatakids.org and Senior Research Scientist at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University
• Sarah Treuhaft, Director of Equitable Growth Initiatives, PolicyLink