Maternity Leave

So, recently on Facebook, a few companies I "like" posted a graphic of maternity leave by country around the world.  The graphic was for the amount of paid leave the government mandated for workers going on maternity leave.  And of course the US is at the bottom. 

Here is the deal though - the US does have provisions for at least 6 weeks of paid leave, but the graphic said 0.  The reason - the mom has to elect to get short term disability insurance.  But, from what I read online, it is available in all states.  And the requirements for that are basically the same as the requirement in Canada (which was at the top of the graphic).  Others were also saying some other countries weren't reported correctly either.

The topic quickly went to how Canada's program is family friendly.  And I am not so sure it is.  I really wonder if having 50 weeks of paid leave (55% pay normally) promotes women going back to work after 1 year.  It might help those moms stay home for that first year, but I bet it also makes them feel like less of a woman if they don't go back after the year. 

Do I think the US has room to improve?  Yes.  I think the FMLA provisions should be changed some.  I think all women should get 6 weeks of job protection after a birth.  Then, I think the length of protection should be proportional to the size of company the person works for.  If you work for a really large company that can easily absorb your work for up to a year, then I think they should have to give you at least 1 year of job protection.  If youw ork for a very small company, then 6 weeks seems to be fine. 

I also think that there should be options in the short term disability to allow you to pay more for more benefits.  It would be nice if there was a way to pay in to have 12 week and then maybe 24 weeks of pay.  Again, it would be the employee's option to get the insurance, etc, but it would be an option.  Employers would have the option have subsidizing the insurance and/or providing additional benefits as well.

Why don't I think the US government should get involved?  Well, let's look at our Social Security system and how well it is working.  From what Canadians say, their system is funded the same way.  And well, the US government hasn't done a good job with SS, so I don't think I would trust them with anything else.  Also, I don't think it should be mandatory.  Some people just don't want/need the insurance.  That is their right I think.  We didn't have any, but we also planned our careers so that I could work from home after AJU5 was born.  Before we even got married, my husband was set on finding a job that would support our family on his income alone.  So, there wasn't a need for us to have the extra pay.

What do you think?