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WREN Testimony to the House General Government Legislative Subcommittee in Support of Paid Leave for Educators H.3908 

by WREN Staff on Mar 28, 2023

Thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony. WREN is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization with a mission to build a movement to advance the health, economic well-being, and rights of South Carolina’s women, girls, gender expansive people and their families. We have more than 40,000 people in our statewide network, and we work with elected officials, advocates, nonprofit partners, and businesses to improve equity and opportunity in our state.   

Paid family leave is crucial to supporting working families’ economic security, improving gender equity in the workplace, and improving recruitment and retention of our public education workforce. Without paid leave, parents face the impossible choice of choosing between their financial well-being, and the well-being of a new child. In the 2021 legislative session, WREN led efforts to secure South Carolina’s first parental leave legislation, guaranteeing 6 weeks of paid leave for over 55,000 state employees. This was a monumental victory for a large and important part of South Carolina’s workforce and will have benefits for generations to come. However, one of the biggest questions we heard from our community was, ‘What about teachers?’ Our teachers are invaluable to South Carolina, and they deserve this basic benefit. Passing H.3908 will be an incredible next step for improving the health and economic wellbeing of South Carolina families.  

Providing paid leave improves child health outcomes: 

Providing paid leave improves maternal health and benefits both mothers and fathers: 

Paid parental leave is popular with South Carolinians:  

 

Paid parental leave is essential to the health of our economy, our workplaces, and our families. Providing this benefit is both the right thing to do and the smart thing to do, and I encourage you to vote yes on H.3908. Thank you for your time.   

 

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