President's Page

It takes a village to raise a child. For a parent, this includes not only family and friends but support from employers and professional institutions as well. Any career gap can leave a professional feeling isolated and overwhelmed by the learning curve associated with reentering the workforce. With time, maternity support has improved significantly all over the world, but it still varies geographically. In Canada, eligible mothers can receive maternity benefits up to 12 weeks before their due date, and parents can choose to receive parental benefits over a period of 12 months at the current benefit rate or up to 18 months at a lower benefit rate. In the United States, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act requires employers to provide up to only 12 weeks of unpaid leave for several medical conditions, including childbirth for mothers. In Venezuela, pregnant women cannot be terminated from work during a period that lasts from the start of the pregnancy until two years after delivering the baby. There is also a provision in Venezuela for 26 weeks of paid maternity leave and two weeks of paternity leave. Paid maternity leave in Kuwait is 70 days, and female employees can request nonpaid leave up to four months after those 70 days.