Duchess Meghan
She demands paid parental leave in the USA
Duchess Meghan at an appearance in New York.
© imago / ZUMA Wire
The US should introduce paid parental leave. Duchess Meghan is now calling for this in a letter to two high-ranking politicians.
Duchess Meghan (40) caused a sensation in the USA with a political demand. Prince Harry’s (37) wife has written a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, 81, and Senator Chuck Schumer, 70. In it, the Duchess of Sussex advocates paid parental leave, as can be read, among others, from author Omid Scobie (40) on Twitter.
In the letter, the Duchess explains that she speaks as a mother. In it, she points to the role of the corona pandemic, which, according to Meghan, made long-standing grievances “in our communities” evident. Millions of women left the job market so they could look after their children, said the 40-year-old.
Happy over 5 dollar salad
“The working mother or working parent faces the conflict of being present or getting paid.” Both are “associated with a high price,” continues the Duchess.
Meghan also looks back on her own childhood in the letter. She remembers how “happy” she felt when she ate a $ 4.99 salad in a store. She was aware of what her parents had to do for it. “I knew how hard my parents worked to afford this because even at five dollars, eating out was special and I was lucky,” she wrote. She also revealed that she started working herself when she was 13. You waited and babysat to earn the bare minimum.
“Not faced with the harsh reality”
The Duchess also talks about the birth of her second child. Harry and Meghan’s daughter Lilibet was born in June. Unlike them, many parents could not enjoy the months after the birth at home with their newborn child without worrying about getting back to work.
“Like all parents, we were overjoyed. Like many parents, we were overwhelmed. Like few parents, we were not faced with the harsh reality of either spending the first important months with our baby or going back to work,” said Meghan. “We knew that we could take them home with us and at this important (and sacred) period we could devote ourselves completely to our children and our families.”
When it comes to childcare, work and medical care, they would not have had to make difficult decisions like many other parents do every day. According to Meghan, nobody should be confronted with anything like this. Americans don’t have to do this if there is paid parental leave.
“It’s about right or wrong”
In her letter, Meghan also discusses how the introduction of paid leave for parents could have a positive impact on the country. She ended the letter by demanding that this be “national law”. “This is not about right or left, it is about right or wrong,” added the Duchess: “This is about putting families above politics.”
The former actress is from Los Angeles and married the British Prince Harry in 2018. Lili’s older brother, Archie, was born in May 2019. The Sussexes have been living in Montecito, California, since spring 2020.