Germany offered maternity protections in 1883, yet the United States still has no federal paid leave.
Germany's Sickness Insurance Act of 1883, one of Otto von Bismarck's three social insurance laws, included provisions for women during childbirth. Working women received cash benefits for several weeks before and after delivery, making Germany one of the earliest industrial nations to offer statutory maternity protection.1
Sweden expanded the concept significantly. In 1974, Sweden became the first country in the world to replace maternity leave with gender-neutral parental leave, allowing either parent to take paid time off after the birth of a child.2 The policy reflected a deliberate decision to distribute caregiving responsibility between mothers and fathers.
The International Labour Organization's Maternity Protection Convention of 2000 recommended a minimum of fourteen weeks of paid maternity leave. By 2021, 120 countries met or exceeded this standard.3
The United States remains the only member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development that does not mandate paid parental leave at the federal level. The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 provides up to twelve weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for eligible workers, but roughly 40 percent of American workers are not eligible for it.4