Our October Lunch n Learn illuminated an important connection between intimate partner violence prevention and paid family leave. We all have a role in ending domestic violence in North Carolina, and we can do so by advocating for this critical workplace policy. Our Director of Prevention and Abuse Intervention, Molly McCambridge, shared research on how economic supports lessen the impact and reduce the likelihood a person will experience abuse. Paid family leave policies improve emotional investment and engagement in caregiving among fathers and they increases the length of breastfeeding. Specifically for survivors, paid family leave provides financial support during a time of acute stress and increased risk of violence for families. Paid family leave is not only beneficial to survivors of domestic violence! Family friendly workplace policies also benefit organizations by decreasing staff turnover and increasing overall worker satisfaction.
North Carolina’s workforce consists of 5 million people, 44% of which are working parents. There are hundreds of thousands of families in NC that would be impacted by improved access for paid family leave benefits.
Beginning in 2021, NCCADV adopted a 6 month paid parental leave policy for its own staff. Our Director of Evaluation, Lizzie Sager, shared the implementation and evaluation of our internal paid family leave policy. The staff members who took advantage of this paid leave within its first year of implementation expressed how beneficial the paid time off was for their healing and recovery from childbirth. The economic support also reduced their stress and anxiety as they adjusted to the addition of a new family member. For the organization, turnover reduced drastically. In the 18 months prior to adopting this policy, 8 staff members left NCCADV. In the 18 months since adopting a 6 month paid parental leave policy, only 2 employees left NCCADV. This is a 74% reduction in employee turnover. The adoption of this paid family leave policy has benefited not only our staff and their families, but also the organization as a whole.
The impact of paid family leave is dramatic for families and organizations. If you’re interested in advocating for paid family leave at your own organization, please check out our Health Impact Assessment on Paid Family Leave in North Carolina. This report shares data on the North Carolina workforce and stories of survivors who were impacted by this policy.
Two ways to learn more:
(1) For Members Only – Click here to view the recording and slides from the October 3 Lunch n Learn webinar on Paid Family Leave
(2) Click here to view NCCADV’s 2022 Health Impact Assessment on Paid Family Leave
Written by: Ruhani Amin
Digital Evaluator and Organizer
If you have a story or update that you want to be featured in this blog, please email Ruhani.
