Worcester Business Journal

8 Worcester Business Journal | February 8, 2021 | wbjournal.com with her second son, she wasn't so lucky. Taking care of both herself and her first child, who was prone to frequent illness, she ran out of paid time off by the time she was ready to give birth. "I ended up taking about four weeks of unpaid time," Tobiasson said. To rub salt in the wound, she then had to write a check to the district, paying for the health insurance coverage she main- tained during those four weeks without pay, which she said she felt fortunate her family was able to afford. With a second child to care for, the difficulties associated with minimal paid time off options intensified. Eventually, she gave up. "I always felt like I was shorting some- one, whether it was my husband who owns his own business and was taking 10 days off a year, or if it was my daycare lady who was going out of her way [to help], and my colleagues," Tobiasson said, describing times she attended work with a fever, a concussion, or other illnesses, either be- cause she needed to save time off, or she didn't have any le. "I just felt like I could no longer continue to ask people to cover for me." Tobiasson le her teaching career aer the district she worked for denied her request to drop down to part-time work. On Jan. 1, Massachusetts' new paid family medical leave law went into effect, intending to help situations like the one Tobiasson faced or other family medical situations. Under the state law – one of nine like it throughout the nation – workers are guaranteed 12 weeks of family leave to bond with a newly born or adopted child, 20 weeks of medical leave for a serious health condition, and 26 weeks of leave to care for a sick or injured family member who has or is serving in the military. e final leg of the law, which allows for leave to take care of a sick family member, will go into effect on July 1. For workers, and particularly women, the law's implications cannot be under- stated. U.S. Census data indicates one in five women quit their jobs before or shortly aer having a baby, and, accord- ing to 2018 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 17% of civilian employ- ees in the U.S had access to paid family leave. Separately, a 2012 study by the Center for Women and Work at Rutgers Univer- sity found women who took paid family leave were 93% more likely to return to work in the nine to 12 months aer having a child and 54% more likely to report increased wages in their first year postpartum than those who take no leave at all. The Boardroom Gap Although it is too early to tell what the long-term impacts will be of paid fam- ily leave on the Central Massachusetts economy, evidence from other countries with similar policies shows paid time off increases female participation in business leadership positions. A 2017 study by the American Economic Association in Tennessee shows when new mothers are away from paid work for longer periods, the less likely they are to be promoted. rough its now four-year-old e Boardroom Gap investigative series, Worcester Business Journal has tracked the gender diversity of the executive suites and boards of directors at 75 prom- inent Central Massachusetts business organizations. is year, the percent of female leaders reached its highest in the four-year investigation – 37% – a three-percentage-point increase from last year. e investigation, which examines 1,600 executives and leaders in Central Massachusetts, found the number of companies with no women in the exec- utive suite or on their boards – so-called zero-zeros – increased from seven to eight in the last year. Of the 75 organiza- tions, 11 are led by women, which is the same as last year. F O C U S W O M E N I N L E A D E R S H I P The Boardroom Gap FIRST IN A 3-PART SERIES Work & family e state's new paid family medical leave law could lead to more women in leadership positions, as gender diversity in Central Mass. board rooms hits a four-year high BY MONICA BUSCH Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer W hen Kate Tobiasson, a Westborough resident who spent nearly 15 years working as an English teacher at three different Central Massachusetts school districts, was about to give birth to her first son in February 2013, she had fortunately saved enough accrued paid time off over several years. Her accrual, plus fortunate timing with the school calendar, provided her seven weeks with her first baby. But in 2016, when she was pregnant Continued on Page 10 Kate Tobiasson, with her husband Patrick and their sons Jasper and Sawyer PHOTO/COURTESY LINDA ZAWADZKI

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