Professor Catherine Powell wrote a blog post in MS Magazine regarding her trip to Cuba to explore the impact of Obama-era policies on the country and its people.
Amidst the tropical weather, we were surprised by the throngs of American tourists flooding the streets, but even more so by what we learned about the opportunities and challenges facing Cuban women.
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Despite the strides women have made in both education and employment in Cuba, where they comprise nearly half the labor force, women are still underrepresented in traditionally male sectors and face glass ceilings in certain leadership positions. Among other barriers, while paid maternity and paternity leave are guaranteed by the government up to a point, women are more likely than men to take parental leave and the paid leave available for men is inadequate. Cuban women also lack access to quality, affordable childcare following their maternity leave, when they are otherwise ready to return to work. The work that women disproportionately undertake to care for their own children is largely unwaged work—following an initial period of paid maternity leave—and outsourcing this care is prohibitively expensive for many Cuban women.
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Many relationships in Cuba are also transient, and women often end up single parenting. Cubans are simply not marrying at the same rate as couples in other parts of Latin America and the Caribbean. Some observers attribute Yoruba religious values that do not stress marriage the way Catholicism does, but other constraints likely play a role. Cuba faces a huge housing crisis, with few new homes built there in 50 years and existing homes falling apart. The housing shortage makes it difficult for new families to start on their own.
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Cuban women can take 18 weeks of maternity leave with one hundred percent of their pay—six weeks before birth and 12 weeks after—with the option of taking an additional 40 weeks at 60 percent of pay. While fathers do not receive paternity leave for the first 18 weeks, they can take 40 weeks of paternity leave at 60 percent pay beginning anytime between weeks 12 and 40. In total, the policy allows for up to 52 weeks of leave—or until the child’s first birthday—for mothers. Cuba’s policy, in some respects, puts it in league with other countries with generous paid maternity leave policies, available in only a small number of countries.
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In addition, although women in Cuba are able to enroll their children in government-run day care centers once their toddlers can walk—generally between nine to 18 months—the government-run day care system is unable to keep up with demand. In light of this, there is an alternate system of private day care centers, which are often more expensive than public day care. For women whose children are not in government day care and who cannot afford private care, the lack of childcare is a significant barrier to returning full-time to work.