4A – Forming An Opportunity Belief

When it comes to my belief, I believe that the United States, as a whole, can do a lot more for working parents who have to take maternal leave across the nation. Many European countries, as early as the 1990s, developed legislation that allowed parents who had been working for a certain amount of time to take several weeks of paid leave in order to care for newborn children, while the U.S.'s parental leave act, the FMLA, only allows parents to take 12 weeks off, all unpaid, if they've worked at a company for at least a year, something that leaves us falling behind when our policies are compared to those of other countries.

This lack of paid leave affects parents nationwide, who, needing money, can ill-afford to leave work for 12 weeks without getting paid, resulting in a low percentage of parents within the workforce taking advantage of FMLA protections, something which is shocking for a country as developed as ours. I feel that the opportunity to raise awareness about this issue could go far in terms of leading to reform for the FMLA, which could go far in reducing workplace inequality nationwide and also allow for parents to cultivate stronger families through allowing them to spend more time at home, while also encouraging more women to go into the workforce. Expanded protections can also allow more men to spend time at home with newborn children, allowing for healthier homes.

#1. ) Early-Twenties Female - 

• "Do you feel as if this issue is relevant to you?"
• "Yes, as someone who is planning to develop a career and also have children, the fact that I won't be able to take time off to spend with them makes me have to choose between those two things."
• "Do you think we should change the FMLA?"
• "Yes, at least so that we can be on par with other developed countries, like you mentioned."
• "How best do you think we should address this issue?"
• "Maybe by raising awareness about it? It doesn't sound like people know much about it."
• "Do you think that allowing for paid parental leave could help the economy?"
• "Yes! More people wouldn't be afraid of going into the workforce or just having children in general if paid leave was a thing."

#2.) Early-20s Male - 

• "Do you feel as if this issue is relevant to you?"
• "Yes, if I want to spend time with my kids when they're born or take care of someone who's sick in my family I should be able to."
• "Do you think we should change the FMLA?"
• "Maybe by making it so that both moms and dads get paid for parental leave?"
• "How best do you think we should address this issue?"
• "Having Congress change the FMLA and make it so that parents can get paid for parental leave?" 
• "Do you think that allowing for paid parental leave could benefit the economy?"
• "Not really since it might make companies think twice about hiring parents, but I still think it's a good idea."

 #3.) Late-30s Female - 

• "Do you feel as if this issue is relevant to you?"
• "Yes, having paid leave would have made it much easier for me to work when I had my first child. I think that it definitely is important for women in general."
• "Do you think we should change the FMLA?"
• "Making paid leave a thing at the minimum should be one of the things we should do."
• "How best do you think we should address this issue?"
• "Maybe creating awareness? Changing it in general might be a good place to start."
• "Do you think that allowing for paid parental leave could benefit the economy?"
• "Definitely, more women would choose to work since they won't have to struggle with balancing childcare and working at the same time, especially after having a child."

Reflection:

• Having taken the time to speak to people about this opportunity, I found that both men and women felt that this is something we should work on. Men especially surprised me since I was asked questions about current Family Medical Leave Act provisions, and after giving answers, found that many agreed with me on my points, and felt that fathers should also be given the option of parental leave, indicating that this is definitely an opportunity I could focus on.

Summarize:

• After thoroughly reflecting on the interview responses, I feel that my opportunity is still there. I feel that FMLA reform is definitely something that people should be made more aware about, and something that both men and women should be told about. I feel that my opportunity is more accurate, since I have learned more about demographics who should be targeted when it comes to raising awareness about such issues. I feel that entrepreneurs should allow for trade-offs, as customer feedback is indicative of a market, which can allow you to sell a product much easier than otherwise to a larger audience, such as how marketing this opportunity to both men along with women would make this a wider known opportunity.