Hat tip to Jessica for pointing out this interactive that compares company maternity leave policies in a visual way:

It took me a minute to orient myself to this bubble chart. This chart represents the maternity leave policies of over 1,800  U.S. companies with the size of the bubble representing the number of weeks of paid maternity leave provided. The 0's on the perimeter of the circle are all the organizations with 0 paid time maternity leave policies. As your scroll down the page, you will see additional facts and figures appear on maternity leave policies. 

Questions:

• Do you think maternity leave policies are important for employees who plan on having children? Why or why not? 
• For employees at companies that don't have a policy of paid maternity leave benefits, how do you think they manage their financial lives after the birth of a child? 
• Identify a few of the the companies that have the most generous maternity leave benefits (largest bubbles). Are there any patterns that you can discern about these companies? 
• Identify a dozen companies that have NO maternity leave benefits. Do you see any pattern with these companies (industry, size, etc.)? 
• Your friend asks "Why should the government dictate company maternity leave benefits?" Develop an argument using data provided in this bubble chart and accompanying tables to answer the question.
•  What do you think is the economic impact of maternity leave policies? 

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Check out the NGPF Interactive Library for more simulations and interactives. 

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.