Economic Opportunity, Health and Education
WREN Statement in Support of Paid Family Leave
by WREN Staff on Mar 4, 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WREN Statement in Support of Paid Family Leave
COLUMBIA, SC– WREN supports efforts to bring gender equity to the essential roles of working and caregiving. Paid leave would provide people of all genders with the ability to work and care for their families. This policy is essential to a healthy and functioning state. No parent should have to choose between bonding with their child and financially providing for their family.
We applaud Governor Henry McMaster, Senator Darrell Jackson, and Representative Beth Bernstein for their leadership on this issue. The legislature’s commitment to workplace equity is crucial in supporting the economic security of working families and our state at large.
“Paid leave is a necessity for healthy families here in South Carolina,” says Women’s Rights and Empowerment Network’s (WREN) CEO, Ann Warner. “Paid leave has many public health benefits, including decreased infant mortality and improved physical and mental health of new parents. This policy will also improve employee retention, productivity, and morale.”
A recent poll conducted by WREN and the National Women’s Law Center found that 90 percent of South Carolinians support paid family leave. Support for this policy is overwhelmingly bipartisan; a plurality of likely Democrat and Republican voters agree that lawmakers should prioritize paid family leave.
Paid leave is one of many bills that WREN is taking leadership on during the 2019-2020 South Carolina legislative session. To read more about WREN’s legislative priorities, visit scwren.org.
For media inquiries or questions regarding the organization, contact Courtney Thomas, WREN Director of Communications at cthomas@scwren.org.
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The Women’s Rights and Empowerment Network (WREN) is a South Carolina nonprofit, non-partisan network that is building a movement to advance the health, economic well-being, and rights of South Carolina’s women, girls, and their families. WREN provides a strong, collective voice for South Carolina’s women and girls.