Despite the bitter divisions between U.S. political parties in recent years, people in the United States are largely united in their support for family, their belief in the value of caregiving, and their need for paid family and medical leave. This report provides key findings on partisanship, care, and paid family and medical leave collected from a nationally representative survey conducted by Better Life Lab at New America and NORC at the University of Chicago. Even on questions of gender equality around caregiving—the idea that men and women should be and are both responsible for family care—there was significant overlap. Counter to the dominant narrative of political polarization, both Democrats and Republicans show widespread support for family caregiving, support for men as involved caregivers, and report needing resources to help families balance work and care, albeit with a few differences in attitudes and opinions more likely to break along party lines. This data suggests broad support across the electorate for lawmakers and candidates for office across party lines to put care and gender-equal care-supportive policies at the center of their political agendas.

Among the study’s key findings are:

1. Democrats and Republicans experience work-care conflict.

• Regardless of gender and party, more than two-thirds (68–70 percent) of caregivers among our respondents said they were employed while providing care assistance. Among caregivers who worked while providing care, over two-thirds (64–71 percent) said they had at some point missed work to provide assistance. Among caregivers who are no longer working, over half of Democrats and Republicans (54 percent and 53 percent, respectively) said they left the workforce or retired early to provide care. Many can’t afford to miss work to provide care, yet are faced with no choice but to care for their families anyway and cobble together time and money on their own.

2. Across party lines, large majorities of people agree parents should share care responsibilities equally.

• While Democrats were more likely than Republicans to say that parents of both genders should share caregiving responsibilities equally, the difference is only 7 percentage points, and the vast majority of both groups (92 percent of Democrats and 87 percent of Republicans) agreed with that statement. However, Republicans are more likely than Democrats to think that the genders should have different roles in care, even if they share equally in overall responsibility. Just over half of Republicans (51 percent) and a third of Democrats (37 percent) agreed that “men and women are equally responsible to care for their families, but men’s role should be financial support, while women should run the household.” Republican men and women were equally likely to agree with this gendered division of roles, but there was a 6 percentage point difference between Democratic men (40 percent agreed) and women (34 percent agreed).

3. There were no differences by party affiliation on who has taken leave to care for an adult or child.

• In our nationally representative sample a quarter of all men (25 percent), and almost a third of all women (31 percent) have taken leave to care for an adult, with no differences by party. Over half of all parents have taken leave to care for a child (48 percent of men, and 55 percent of women), with no differences by party as well.

4. About half of employed Democrats and Republicans did not have access to paid family and medical leave.

• Republicans and Democrats were just as likely to have taken leave to care for a family member or newborn in the past, though Democrats were more likely than Republicans to say they anticipate leave in the future (a difference of 7 to 8 percentage points).

5. Men take leave from work when others in their lives need care chiefly because it is the right thing to do.

• Democrats and Republicans were overwhelmingly united in the belief men take leave because it’s the right thing to do for their families (62 percent and 60 percent agreed, respectively). Over 50 percent of respondents from both parties also agreed that men take leave because their spouse or partner supports them in doing so. Democrats were more likely than Republicans (47 percent versus 38 percent, respectively) to say that their partner needing or wanting to continue working is a major reason men take leave.

6. Men don’t take leave to care for others because they can’t afford it.

• Republicans and Democrats are even more united in the belief that the main reason men do not take paid leave to care for others is because they cannot afford to (72 percent and 74 percent agree, respectively). Being seen as manly, or adhering to traditional gender norms of men as distant breadwinners, was the least common answer for why men don’t take leave (only 18 percent of Republicans and 26 percent of Democrats agree). This suggests that economic factors influence men’s decisions not to take leave to provide care more than gender norms do.
• One reason men feel they cannot afford to take leave to care for others is that they see men experiencing negative repercussions at work when they take leave. Almost half of Democrats (46 percent), over a third of Republicans (38 percent), and nearly a third of Independents (32 percent) agree that men are less likely to take leave because they see other men being penalized for taking leave.

Even prior to the COVID-19 crisis that has pushed many American families to the breaking point, people with vastly different ideologies found themselves overwhelmed with work and care. In the midst of a global pandemic, many families have no access to paid sick days or paid leave policies to ensure they can take care of themselves or family members, and avoid spreading contagions. In other advanced economies, paid family and medical leave policies play a key role in family economic security, taking the place of infant care. Parents in the United States must rely on our child care systems within weeks of giving birth, and coronavirus has exposed just how precarious those systems are. Without policy support and sufficient funding, our care systems are falling apart. Childcare on average costs a married couple 11 percent of their income, and single parents 36 percent of their income, yet early care and education workers make poverty wages. There’s also a widening shortage of home care workers.

Polling data shows widespread public support for paid family and medical leave. Yet in the run-up to the 2020 elections, although more candidates proposed childcare plans than in previous elections, candidates across the political spectrum have done little to center these issues in debates and substantive policy discussions. In the Democratic-presidential primary debates, candidates had minimal discussions on paid family and medical leave (which had only nine mentions across debates) and childcare, as issues of economic security. However, since then, former Vice President Joe Biden recently announced his “Build Back Better” plan to create 3 million new jobs in caregiving and education, as well as establish a federal paid family and medical leave program, signaling support for family economic security. During his 2016 campaign, President Trump only proposed a plan for paid parental leave for mothers, not the more expansive family and medical leave policies that would extend paid leave to workers needing to care for themselves or adult loved ones. Since then, his administration has included paid parental leave in his budget proposals, but the administration has not worked with Congress to advance permanent national paid family leave benefits for private sector workers, nor presented solid details on a potential paid leave and caregiving platform for the 2020 campaign cycle.

And while lawmakers in the spring of 2020 passed temporary emergency paid family leave to help parents with children whose schools and child care centers have closed because of the pandemic, millions of workers were exempted, and the legislation is set to expire at the end of 2020. Democrats and a handful of Republican lawmakers in Congress have proposed more permanent paid leave and care legislation, yet those policies have not garnered enough bipartisan support from legislators to pass.

To better understand how political party identity may impact the caregiving attitudes and behaviors of people across gender, and the use of and need for paid family and medical leave, the Better Life Lab at New America and NORC at the University of Chicago collected nationally representative survey data on caregiving. Contrary to conventional wisdom among lawmakers that caregiving and paid leave are niche issues only relevant to women, results of this survey indicate there is widespread bipartisan support for paid family and medical leave for caregivers, and that respondents across political ideologies are equally likely to have taken leave from their jobs to care for a family member or newborn. This report explores in detail how men and women of different political party affiliations align and diverge on their attitudes toward care, work-care conflict, and paid family and medical leave.

Throughout 2019, the Better Life Lab at New America conducted a multi-modal study of men and caregiving in the United States, with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Pivotal Ventures, an investment and incubation company created by Melinda Gates. This research included a quantitative component: a nationally representative survey of 2,966 Americans, in partnership with NORC at the University of Chicago, including oversamples of adult men and fathers of children zero to eight years old. This is part of a larger series of reports on men and care. Click here for more information on survey methodology.

This report explores partisan similarities and differences on care and paid family and medical leave, with additional analysis on gender differences and an emphasis on political party data. Eighty percent of our survey respondents identified themselves as Democrats or Republicans, and 20 percent of respondents identified themselves as “Independents,” which included those with no affiliation to a specific political party. Because of the smaller percentage of Independent respondents, and since Independents tend to have more widely varying beliefs within their group, charts and figures highlight the significant similarities and differences between Democrats and Republicans. Independents are included throughout the charts and report for additional context on where Americans who identify as neither Republicans nor Democrats stand on these issues.

In this survey, family and medical leave was defined as time off from work to take care of others for longer than a day or two. Respondents were asked about both paid and unpaid time off for this purpose.

In order to gain a better understanding of how men think of care in general, participants were asked whether they had ever personally provided care to a child under the age of 18 and whether they had ever personally provided ongoing or periodic living assistance to an adult family member or close friend, due to that adult’s illness, disability, or age. Those who had provided such care were then asked whether or not they felt respected as caregivers inside and outside the family, whether they had opportunities to grow as a parent, and whether they found parental work satisfying. Those who were parents were also asked whether they felt burned out and stressed from their work as a parent and whether they felt they were trusted as a parent based on their gender.

Men who have ever provided care were largely aligned on their experiences with and opinions about caregiving, regardless of their party affiliation. Well over three-quarters of men who had given care agreed that people inside their family respect them in their role as a caregiver (92 percent of Democrats, 84 percent of Republicans, 81 percent of Independents). Similarly large majorities of male caregivers agreed that they found their work as caregivers satisfying (85 percent of Democrats, 84 percent of Republicans, 89 percent of Independents), that they felt respected as a caregiver by people outside of their family (83 percent of Democrats, 82 percent of Republicans, 79 percent of Independents), and that they have opportunities to grow as a caregiver (74 percent of Democrats, 74 percent of Republicans, 62 percent of Independents).

The only statistically significant difference between male caregivers of the major parties on this set of questions was that Democrats were more likely than Republicans to say that their families respect them in their role as a caregiver, but this difference of 6 percentage points should not obscure the fact that the vast majority of both parties (over 90 percent of Democrats and over 80 percent of Republicans) feel respected. This remarkable alignment on attitudes toward caregiving suggests that experience, rather than political ideology, influences men’s positive perception of themselves and their role as caregivers. Across party lines, men who have cared for their children or for adults tend to feel respected, supported, and satisfied with providing care.

Although men find it gratifying to provide care, more than half of men across party ideologies who have ever provided care expressed feeling burned out from care work sometimes or often (58 percent of Democrats, 56 percent of Republicans, and 59 percent of Independents). Over half also say that the caregiving they do is more stressful than other kinds of work (62 percent of Democrats, 65 percent of Republicans, 55 percent of Independents). A small but noteworthy percentage of caregiving men feel that people do not trust them to do their caregiving in a safe and caring manner because of their gender (21 percent of Democrats, 17 percent of Republicans, 27 percent of Independents). Providing care for children and adults is a stressful job, particularly when caregivers feel at a social disadvantage because of gendered expectations about men’s lack of caregiving competence.

Respondents were also asked a series of questions about their attitudes toward family caregiving responsibilities and gender roles. There was far more agreement than disagreement between Democrats and Republicans on all these questions, especially those about caregiving. For example, well more than three-quarters of male respondents believe that care work at home is valuable to society, with no significant differences by party (91 percent of Democrat, 87 percent of Republican, 85 percent of Independent men). While even more women than men agree with this statement, there was not a significant difference between Democratic and Republican women (93 percent and 95 percent, respectively, compared to 82 percent of Independent women). Similarly, respondents who were caregivers said that they were proud to talk with friends and family about the role they play in caring for their families, with no differences by party (or by gender) (81 percent of Democrats, 77 percent of Republicans, 80 percent of Independents).

While there were notable attitudinal differences between respondents based on party identification, the size of the differences was consistently dwarfed by the similarities, especially between Democratic and Republican respondents. For example, Democrats were more likely than Republicans to say that men and women should share caregiving responsibilities equally, but this difference is only 6 percentage points, while the vast majority of both groups (91 percent of Democrats, 85 percent of Republicans) agreed with equal sharing of responsibility (Independents were in between, at 87 percent agreement).

The largest differences between respondents of the two major parties were about specific gender roles, with Republicans more likely than Democrats to think that the genders should have different, traditional roles, even if they share equally in overall responsibility. Just over half of Republicans (51 percent) and a third of Democrats (37 percent) agreed that men and women are equally responsible to care for their families, but men’s role should be financial support, while women should run the household. Republican men and women were equally likely to agree with this gendered division of roles, but there was a 6 percentage point difference between Democratic men and women (40 percent versus 34 percent agreed, respectively). Republicans and Independents were also more likely than Democrats to agree with the statement “It’s okay for men to do some care work, but women are better suited to do more of it,” although this was not a majority view among any group (34 percent of Democrats versus 44 percent of Republicans and 41 percent of Independents). Republicans were significantly more likely than Democrats to say that being an involved father is an important part of being a man, but this was only a 5 percentage point difference, compared to over three-quarters of all respondents accepting this attitude about a father’s role (87 percent of Democrats, 90 percent of Republicans, 86 percent of Independents).

Despite these marginal differences in attitudes about traditional gender roles, there is widespread agreement on the value of caregiving and importance of men and women sharing responsibility for it.

Overall, more Democratic and Republican respondents felt that work took away from the time and resources they had for their family, in contrast to family taking priority or time away from work.

Employed respondents tended to agree on the impact of work on family and vice versa, with only small differences. More than half (58 percent) of employed respondents, regardless of political identification, reported they sometimes or often experience the demands of their jobs interfering with their family or personal time. Similarly, 60 percent reported that sometimes or often, things they want to do at home do not get done because of demands from their job, and 53 percent said that the amount of time their job takes up makes it difficult to fulfill family and personal commitments. In contrast, only about a third of employed respondents (35 percent) felt that the demands and needs of family interfered with their ability to complete job-related tasks, with no significant differences by party identification. In short, regardless of political party, respondents felt that work took away from the time and resources they had for their family more than family responsibilities take priority or time away from work.

While Democratic and Independent men and women reported similar levels of work-family conflict, Republican men were more likely than Republican women to say that the demands of their job interfere with their family or personal time. Among men, there is not a significant difference between the percentages of Democrats (61 percent) and Republicans (63 percent) who agree that work interferes with family/personal time. Among women, in contrast, significantly more Democrats (60 percent) than Republicans (50 percent) agree that work interferes with family/personal time.

Regardless of gender and across party lines, over two-thirds of caregivers (68–70 percent) said they have been employed while providing care assistance, and the majority of these employed caregivers said they had at some point missed work to provide assistance. Two-thirds (68 percent) of employed caregivers reported missing work to provide care, and 43 percent had reduced work hours to provide care, with no significant differences among Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. Democrats and Republicans were both significantly more likely to have left the workforce or retired early to provide care compared to Independents (54 percent of Democrats and 53 percent of Republicans, versus 31 percent of Independents).

Taken together, these results point toward a greater need for work-family balance than is currently available in the American business world.

There were no differences by political ideology on who takes leave to care for an adult, and, among parents, who takes leave to care for a child. Even though Democrats and Republicans were more likely to have access to paid leave policies through their employer compared to Independents, still more than half of respondents did not have access to paid family and medical leave.

Just over half of parents surveyed (52 percent) reported that they had ever taken leave from work due to the birth or adoption of a child in general, with no differences by party. Democratic and Republican parents were more likely than Independent parents to say specifically they took paid or unpaid leave from work following the birth or adoption of a child (54 percent of Democrats and Republicans versus 44 percent of Independents). Also across party lines, there were no significant differences by party or gender in terms of what percentage of people have taken leave from work in general to care for a family member with a serious illness, disability, or eldercare needs. In the general population of our survey, a quarter of all men (25 percent), and almost a third of all women (31 percent) have taken leave to care for an adult, again with no differences by party. It is likely that fewer Independents said they took leave to provide care for a newborn because fewer Independents reported having access to paid family and medical leave compared to Democrats and Republicans.

Democrats and Republicans were both significantly more likely to have access to paid sick days, paid vacation days, and general paid time off through an employer than Independents. About two-thirds of Democrats and Republicans had access paid sick days (62 percent and 64 percent, respectively), paid vacation days (65 percent and 67 percent, respectively); and paid time off that could be used as the employee chose (56 percent and 59 percent, respectively). Significantly fewer Independents had access to these benefits: 45 percent had paid sick days, 55 percent had paid vacation, and 42 percent had other paid time off.

Democrats and Republicans were also both more likely than Independents to have access to employer-provided paid family and medical leave (45 percent of Democrats and 46 percent of Republicans versus 33 percent of Independents). Although Democrats and Republicans reported more access to paid family and medical leave than Independents, it is important to note that more than half did not have access to the benefit at all.

Of those in the workforce, Democrats and Independents were both more likely than Republicans to say they were somewhat or very likely to need to take paid or unpaid leave at some point in the future following the birth or adoption of a child (34 paid Democrat and 35 percent Independent, versus 21 percent Republican). Democrats were also more likely than Republicans to say they were very likely or somewhat likely to need to take leave from work to care for a sick or aging family member at some point in the future (54 percent of Democrats versus 46 percent of Republicans, with Independents in the middle at 51 percent). This could have various explanations, one being that Democratic and Independent respondents in our sample tended to skew younger than Republican respondents, so they could be at different life planning stages in terms of needing infant and child care. In addition, our data shows Republicans tend to agree more with a traditional split in household responsibilities, so they may expect that their partner would take time off work to care for their newborn.

Across party lines, the top reason men take leave is because people believe it is the right thing to do—with Democrats and Republicans more likely to say that is a major reason than Independents. The next most salient bipartisan reason for men taking leave was that his spouse or partner supports his taking leave.

Nearly two-thirds of Democrats and Republicans (62 percent and 61 percent, respectively) agree that a major reason they think men take leave to care for a loved one is because it is the right thing to do, compared to fewer than half of Independents (48 percent). This was the reason for taking leave that was chosen by the largest number of respondents.

Among the economic imperatives that push men to take leave, more than a third of adults say a man’s partner’s need or desire to continue working is a major reason for taking leave, with significant differences among all of the party identifications (47 percent of Democrats versus 38 percent of Republicans versus 31 percent of Independents). Over a third of Democrats (37 percent) and Republicans (35 percent) cite the partner’s greater earning potential as a major reason men take leave, compared to 24 percent of Independents.

The second most chosen reason for taking leave was a supportive environment at home. Over half of Democrats and Republicans (58 percent and 53 percent, respectively) identified spouse, partner, or family support for taking leave as a major reason for men taking leave. Significantly fewer Independents (42 percent) identified this as a major reason.

Supportive work environments also appear to encourage men to take leave, although there was nearly a 30 percentage point difference in the numbers of participants choosing reasons related to the work environment compared to taking leave being the right thing to do. In general, Democrats were significantly more likely than Republicans and Independents to identify these as major reasons: managers at his work encourage employees to take leave (34 Percent of Democrats, compared to 28 percent of Republicans and 24 percent of Independents); other men at work have taken leave and not been penalized (33 percent of Democrats, compared to 23 percent of Republicans and 28 percent of Independents); and leaders at his organization have taken leave (27 percent of Democrats, compared to 20 percent of Republicans and 16 percent of Independents).

One school of thought suggests that if men had more visible role models demonstrating positive leave-taking, that more men would be inspired and incentivized to take leave. While in general half of American adults think seeing public figures a man respects taking leave is either a major or minor reason men take leave, it was the least common major reason selected. Democrats (20 percent) were more likely than Republicans (14 percent) and Independents (11 percent) to believe that public figures modeling leave-using behaviors motivates men to take leave themselves.

One factor to note to better understand this data is that survey participants may have answered based on what they thought men’s perceived barriers and motivators were, rather than their own personal experiences. It’s likely that narratives in the media, experiences at home or at work, and general thoughts on gender influenced how people think about why men do or do not take leave. For each of the eight reasons this survey offered for why men might take leave, the percentage of Republicans selecting it as a major reason was in between the percentage of Democrats and the percentage of Independents selecting it as a major reason. This ordering is not consistent with a “common sense” ordering that puts Democrats and Republicans on opposite sides of an ideological continuum, with Independents in the middle between them. A reason for this could be that Independents tend to include individuals with very different perspectives across the political spectrum. Even with these differences in attitudes and beliefs, the overarching major reason men take leave from work to care for others is because they believe it is the right thing to do.

By far, the majority of respondents, regardless of political party, agreed that the main reason men don’t take leave is because they can’t afford it. Democrats are more likely than Republicans and Independents to believe men don’t take leave because their partner will take leave instead or they lack supportive environments, even so these reasons came in as the second and third major reasons men don’t take leave.

The stand-out reason people believe men don’t take leave is because men can’t afford it. Respondents from the two major parties exhibited remarkable unity in that almost three-quarters of Democrats (74 percent) and Republicans (72 percent) identified this as a major reason, compared to just over half of Independents (56 percent). Compared to this economic factor, respondents were much less likely to identify gender norms, unsupportive environments, and personal choice as major reasons, by differences of up to 48 percentage points. Although the majority of respondents across party lines believed that men take time off to care because it’s the right thing to do (as shown by the previous section of this report), practical financial constraints keep men from being able to take leave from work for care responsibilities.

Almost half of Democrats (46 percent) believe that cultural or professional penalties contribute to why men do not take leave as well, believing that men are less likely to take leave when they see other men being penalized for taking leave. Closer to a third of Republicans (38 percent) and Independents (32 percent) say this is a major reason men don’t take leave.

Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say a major reason why men don’t take leave is because men don’t think they need to because their partner or other family members are taking leave, but fewer than half of all three groups identify this as a major reason (47 percent of Democrats versus 38 percent Republicans and 27 percent of Independents identify this as a major reason men do not take leave).

Democrats and Republicans are both more likely than Independents to say that not wanting to be a caregiver for others is a reason why men don’t take leave, with 40 percent of Democrats, 34 percent of Republicans, and 27 percent of Independents agreeing to this reason. Independents are more likely than either Democrats or Republicans to dismiss “not wanting to be a caregiver” as a reason why men don’t take leave.

As previously noted, Democrats are more likely to attribute positive support systems as reasons men take leave. They are also more likely to say that lack of support is a major reason men do not take leave. Thirty percent of Democrats believe this is a major reason, compared to 22 percent of Independents and 20 percent of Republicans. Thirty-one percent of Democrats say that other men not taking leave is a major reason men do not take leave, with 23 percent of Republicans believing this is a major reason and 19 percent of Independents agreeing as well.

Finally, while not being seen as manly was the least common reason people said men do not take leave, Democrats were more likely than Republicans and Independents to say it was a major reason men do not take leave from work to care for others. Twenty-six percent of Democrats compared to 18 percent of Republicans and 15 percent of Independents said men do not take leave because they think it is not manly. The data suggests that men not taking leave to care for a family member has more to do with financial arguments than internalized opinions on gender and caregiving.

There were very few significant differences by party on how people fund their leave from work to care for a family member. Republican respondents tended to occupy higher income brackets than other respondents, and were also more likely to say they would not need to do anything differently to fund their leave. Even so, a quarter of respondents across party lines answered they would have to pull from other savings or limit their spending.

Among respondents who had taken a leave to care for a child or adult, there were few differences by party in how individuals covered the cost of leave. Respondents who had taken leave were split across various methods for funding it. While not needing to do anything different to cover the costs of leave from work was the most common way respondents covered the costs of leave, Republicans were significantly more likely than Independents to choose this option (47 percent Republican versus 30 percent Independent), with Democrats in between at 40 percent reporting this method. The next most common method groups supplement their leave with was through dipping into savings set aside for other uses (27 percent of all respondents, with no party differences) or limiting their spending on basic needs (24 percent of respondents, with no party differences).

Democrats were more likely than Republicans to have to put off paying bills (15 percent Democrats versus 9 percent Republicans). Those differences are likely explained by income differentials between the parties in our sample, with Republicans tending to occupy higher income brackets, Democrats with moderately lower salaries, and Independents tending to occupy even lower income brackets (Republicans at $50-59k on average, Democrats at $40-49k, and Independents at $35k-39k). Republicans in our sample were also more likely to be older (50 years old on average, compared to 46 years on average among Democrats and 43 years among Independents), which could change the type of care they need to provide, as well as resources and responsibilities which shift throughout life.

Some states and counties have passed paid family and medical leave programs, yet the majority of U.S. residents still have to piece together their own resources when they need to provide emergency care. During the COVID-19 global pandemic, temporary paid sick days and paid family and medical leave policies have gained momentum at the national and state level, which could encourage policymakers to establish more permanent benefits. With such desperate need in the global pandemic, and growing public support for family-supportive policies like paid family and medical leave, understanding partisan attitudes about the issue will help legislators and voters move toward passing a federal paid leave program that mitigates the care crisis we are facing as a nation.

Far from the conventional wisdom that care and caregiving are seen as women’s issues, or side issues, this survey provides evidence of overwhelming bipartisan support for families and caregivers and on the value of care in the United States. Men feel supported and satisfied providing care, and believe it is the right thing to do, yet across party lines they face economic hurdles when it comes to being able to take time off work to provide care. Republicans, Democrats, and Independents alike experience challenges juggling work and care, and need paid leave from work in order to manage their caregiving responsibilities. Lawmakers should take note of this widespread, bipartisan support for caregiving and paid family leave when considering family-supportive legislation, particularly as families are under severe strain in the pandemic and global economic downturn.

As it is, the United States is the only large, developed nation without a national policy guaranteeing paid family and medical leave for new parents, to care for themselves while ill, and for those with sick and aging family members. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act allows for up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave. Eight states and the District of Columbia have passed or implemented their own paid family leave plans—funded by employees through a payroll deduction. And voluntary policies offered by private employers cover 19 percent of U.S. workers, with high-income workers more than four times as likely to have access to it than lower income workers. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, in March 2020 Congress passed the historic Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) which allowed many workers in the U.S. access to paid sick leave and paid family care leave, for the first time.

Because of this patchwork policy landscape, and because the temporary COVID-19 response packages included large exemptions at the last minute, millions of Americans still have no access to any paid leave or programs that enable them to take time to care for their families without risking their jobs or financial insecurity. And while there has been growing consensus on the value of a paid family and medical leave policy, lawmakers continue to differ on who it should cover—Republican lawmakers favor a policy for new parents only despite data that shows the need for leave policies for reasons other than birth or adoption—and how it should be funded.

Advocates have argued that many workers in the United States are not eligible for or can’t afford to take unpaid leave, so a federal paid leave policy would help people across the gender spectrum to take the time they need to care for themselves and their families. An absence of a federal policy that normalizes caregiving across gender and puts pressure on workplaces to accommodate workers with caregiving responsibilities has also contributed to stubborn gender gaps. Although men began to take on more child and elder care responsibilities as more women entered the workforce in the 1970s and 1980s, workplaces still expect men to put work first, and assume women, even if working full-time, will still take on the majority of the care work. But earlier Better Life Lab and NORC analysis found that men need and want to take time off work to care for their families just as much as women do.

Given the findings of this data which show broad support and value for caregiving and leave from work to provide care, here are some family-supportive policies with widespread support from Americans across party lines:

• A permanent paid family and medical leave policy of at least 12 weeks so people can care for newborn children, seriously ill family members, and their own health conditions.
• A paid sick days policy to guarantee that workers can take time off when they are sick and still have a job to return to.
• A significant federal investment in a high quality care infrastructure and a family care program that everyone pays into, like Social Security, and everyone could access to better support caregiving needs, with a broad reach to include infant and childcare, care for a disability, and care for sick or aging family members and adults.

In this moment of sharp political divisiveness, when there are many clear and palpable differences of opinions, priorities and ideologies separating Republicans and Democrats, supporting care, caregiving and families is a unifying factor across the political spectrum. This survey found that the majority of Americans, regardless of gender and party, want to have the time to hold, care for, bond and play with their newborns, prepare a grandparent’s meal when they’re too sick to move, and help a chronically ill relative navigate a complicated medical system. But many people, both Republican and Democrat, instead are compelled to head into an office or workplace and miss these crucial moments to ensure their bills are paid and their families financially stable. More than two-thirds of caregivers who were employed while providing care (68 percent) reported missing work to provide care, and almost half (43 percent) had to reduce hours at work to handle family responsibilities—with no differences between Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. The universal need for paid family and medical leave and for national investment in care infrastructure is clear. The support for caregivers and families is widespread and bipartisan. Now, policymakers have the opportunity to design the policies and systems and make the investments to provide people in America with the help they need to care for the people who mean the most to them in life.