Parental Leave & Other Leaves
To improve gender and health equity, and support ASE parents so they can stay in their research and career tracks, ASEs are demanding:
- Six weeks of paid parental leave, up from the current four weeks.
- Clear policies on sick leave and vacation days enshrined in our contract, as under the current status quo, most ASEs have access to neither.
Too many ASEs have shared their struggles related to WSU’s lack of sufficient family-friendly policies. We need paid parental leave to address the well-known issues of gender equity and the leaky pipeline of women leaving academia, and to support WSU’s ability to retain a diverse workforce of ASEs.
WSU has moved towards us and is agreeing to provide five weeks of paid parental leave, up from the current 4 weeks, but we believe they can do better and are pushing for six weeks.
Additionally, having access to sick leave and vacation days is not a luxury, but instead contributes to health equity, allowing ASEs to take care of themselves when they are ill and recharge by taking paid time off. Having clear leave policies enshrined in a contract is an important part of ensuring we have fair working conditions.
“I’m a single parent with 50/50 custody. I need to provide for my daughter, which I can do better if I advance my education, but balancing all of it feels next to impossible as a grad student, ASE, and parent. And, I’m surely not alone. As reported by the WSU Pullman Graduate and Professional Student Association (GPSA) in 2021, 1/6th, or 250, of Pullman Grad Students had a caregiving responsibility.”
“We have zero paid leave – no annual leave or sick leave. What we’re asking for is a reasonable floor so we can take necessary breaks for our wellbeing.”