The debate on whether employers should be mandated by law to
provide unpaid leave for employees to care for dependent family
members touches on conflicts between women's rights as citizens and
their roles in the family. Because opponents have claimed that family
leave is not good for business, proponents have been forced to defend
the regulation of business. By reframing the issue in terms of gender
justice, the discourse would be broadened to include the health and
social policy context that leaves so many women with the stark choice
of caregiving or employment .
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