Support for paid family leave is higher than ever, according to new polling released this week.
Eighty-five percent of battleground state voters, across all party lines, overwhelmingly back paid family, parental, and medical leave, a survey by Lake Research Partners in conjunction with advocacy group Paid Leave for All found. This broke down into 96% of Democrats, 82% of Independents, and 76% of Republicans.
Notably, it was also backed by 94% of younger women, 84% of suburban women, 99% of Black women, and 92% of typically low turnout Gen Z and millennial voters.
“Paid leave has been one of the most widely supported policies for years, but we’re watching the intensity continue to rise with voters,” the founding director of Paid Leave for All, Dawn Huckelbridge, tells Glamour. “Our need to care for aging parents, children, and family will only grow.”
Democrats and Republicans should take note. The survey, which covered Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Georgia, Florida, and Ohio, also suggested that voter turnout could increase for candidates who will commit to creating a paid family and medical leave program. Nearly two thirds (65%) of battleground voters are motivated to vote in elections next year. And 50% of younger Republicans and 54% of Republican women are more likely to vote for a candidate who favors paid leave.
“This is an issue that uniquely unites us,” Hucklebridge continues. “Every candidate stands to benefit from running on paid leave, and every elected official should deliver.”
This polling comes at a critical moment ahead of the 2024 election campaign and bolsters support for a policy that couldn’t be more vital.
Glamour has led the fight to #passpaidleave in America, with our award-winning 28 Days project, which followed eight women with varying access to paid leave through the first four weeks postpartum. We also launched a series of spoof baby books to highlight the absurdity of the lack of paid parental leave—which has forced one in four women back to work within two weeks of giving birth.
Sign the petition calling on the government to pass paid leave here.
