IV. Concluding Thoughts

As we enter the fall of 2020, many would argue that the United States is at a crossroads with respect to taking policy actions related to public health, racial injustice, gender inequity and economic inequality. Paid family and medical leave would help to address each of these issues and is a policy ripe for serious consideration and enactment at the federal level. Recent congressional engagement on the issue has built on several years of rapid state-level progress. Advocates on the left have been working for decades to lay the groundwork for a national paid leave policy and have been joined more recently by advocates from the center and the right. 2021 may provide new opportunities for action.

This report’s examination of the relevant literature across the fields of political science, sociology and public policy suggests that legislative success is often tied to a range of complex and interacting characteristics of the political, social, economic and geographic landscape – but that trends across these areas often reveal opportunities for the development and passage of substantive policies.

With respect to paid family and medical leave, we hope this report helps advocates and lawmakers to recognize opportunities for successful policy action in this area, as well as to gain a more holistic understanding of potential barriers to legislative success. Moving forward, advocates and lawmakers will need to consider several critical points:

• Strategies for determining policy design and content, the pursuit of legislative champions, and forming potential legislative pathways in various 2021-2022 scenarios;
• Ways in which the timing and trajectory of legislative efforts affect the development of advocacy tactics, coalition structures, and investments in organizing, communications, lobbying and research;
• How the partisan makeup of Congress, the state of the economy and the identity of the next president will substantially affect the timing and process for addressing paid leave, as well as the scope and financing of proposals;
• Decisions regarding the relative value and risk of forming unified advocacy coalitions, left/right partnerships, and/or alliances between advocacy organizations and private industry groups;
• Whether there is potential for further progress at the state level and in what ways state actions will impact the engagement of advocates, business and industry groups on this issue at the national level;
• How the health and economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic – particularly as they exacerbate existing disparities in health and economic outcomes across racial, ethnic, gender, ability, and other groups – could affect public opinion on this issue, either increasing public understanding about the importance of widespread public access to paid family and medical leave, or diminishing public interest in favor of other priorities perceived to be more immediate.

Success stories from states, a growing body of compelling research, and effective national coalition work has moved this policy issue further onto the national agenda than ever before – and the opportunities to advance this policy in the coming months and years are exciting. Much work remains, however. In reflecting on other federal initiatives, we find opportunities for advocates to continue to build on the lessons of past efforts to hone their legislative strategies and channel advocacy efforts as efficiently as possible. Overall, we hope this report will accelerate progress to the day when the United States is a country that guarantees paid family and medical leave for all.