This past year, family leave laws were passed in New York and Washington D.C. In New York, the law will take effect in 2018 and allow workers 12 weeks of paid leave from their jobs to care for new babies or ailing relatives. The DC law, which was passed just last week, extends 8 weeks. It is also worth mentioning the private companies that made strides in this direction in 2016 to offer generous leave policies for their employees. This was legislation and policy that Anne-Marie Slaughter was thinking very much about as the President and CEO of the New America Foundation and author of the recent book Unfinished Business: Women Men Work Family, which was published in paperback this past fall. When we began working together in March, Dr. Slaughter was interested in exploring the ideas surrounding care in the book, how we could better value care, and achieve gender equality surrounding care – and how these ideas can be implemented in practical ways when it came to raising a family and the challenges of balancing with a career. One of the great panel discussions Dr. Slaughter hosted in the spring (video above) invited Her Excellency Solveig Horne to New York City to speak on the domestic policies in Norway, where she serves as the Minister of Children, Equality, and Social Inclusion.
In a podcast interview with Sophia Amoruso for Girlboss Radio, Dr. Slaughter expands on her ideas and reflects on her upbringing, education and journey that brought her to this point and helped form her values.