Abstract
Women play a large role in the workplace and require additional protection during pregnancy, childbirth, and while raising children. This article compares how Mexico and the United States have approached the issue of maternity rights and benefits. First, Mexico provides eighty-four days of paid leave to mothers, while the United States provides unpaid leave for up to twelve weeks. Second, Mexico allows two thirty-minute breaks a day for breastfeeding, while the United States allows a reasonable amount of time per day to breastfeed. Third, Mexico provides childcare to most federal employees, while the United States provides daycares to a small number of federal employees. Fourth, employment discrimination on the basis of pregnancy is unlawful in both countries. Lastly, Mexico enforced paid maternity leave to all pregnant employees to protect them from exposure to COVID-19; meanwhile, forced maternity leave is illegal in the United States.
In addition to a comprehensive review of maternity rights in Mexico and the United States, this article advocates for necessary measures that must be taken in order to enforce women’s maternity rights. The article highlights the laws shortcomings and advocates for the law to continue evolving so that having children and parenting does not hinder an employee’s career stability and professional growth. This article argues that although the law grants women rights, especially regarding maternity, the problem continues in the effectiveness of these rights. Women continue to be discriminated by society and in the workplace when they decide to become mothers.
Last Page
305
First Page
235
Date Created
October 4, 2021
Journal Title
The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice
Recommended Citation
Roberto Rosas,
Maternity Rights: A Comparative View of Mexico and the United States,
23
The Scholar
235
(2021).
Available at:
https://commons.stmarytx.edu/thescholar/vol23/iss2/2
Volume Number
23
Issue Number
2
Publisher
St. Mary's University School of Law
Editor
Candace L. Castillo
ISSN
1537-405X
Included in
Civil Rights and Discrimination Commons, Constitutional Law Commons, Disability Law Commons, Family Law Commons, Family, Life Course, and Society Commons, Health Law and Policy Commons, Inequality and Stratification Commons, International Law Commons, Juvenile Law Commons, Labor and Employment Law Commons, Law and Gender Commons, Law and Race Commons, Law and Society Commons, Legal Remedies Commons, Sociology of Culture Commons
