ADVERTISEMENT

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Champion Paid Leave in Holiday Donations

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Champion Paid Leave in Holiday Donations

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, the Duchess and Duke of Sussex, unveiled a series of donations in a holiday card released Thursday with a heavy emphasis on lobbying for federal paid family leave in the U.S. 

The card, which features a photo of the couple’s family, lists a number of organizations that received donations from Meghan and Harry’s Archewell Foundation. “As we look forward to 2022, we have made donations on your behalf to several organizations that honor and protect families — from those being relocated from Afghanistan, to American families in need of paid parental leave,” the Duke and Duchess of Sussex wrote. They did not reveal how much they gave in total or to each group. 

Among the groups that received donations were Paid Leave for AllPL+US, and the Marshall Plan for Moms, which are lobbying Congress to pass a federal paid family leave law. The U.S. is one of seven countries globally that offers no paid maternity leave, and one of nearly 100 countries that offer no paid leave to new fathers. The current version of President Biden’s proposed Build Back Better Act includes four weeks of paid family leave, down from the initial 12 it offered. The fate of the bill is unclear after Senator Joe Manchin on Sunday said he wouldn’t vote for it. 

“We are grateful for their support and recognition in this critical moment,” Molly Day,  the executive director at PL+US wrote in a statement

Markle has been outspoken in advocating for paid family leave, and particularly parental leave. In October, she wrote a letter released through Paid Leave for All urging Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to not compromise on paid leave. “If we’re going to create a new era of family first policies, let’s make sure that includes a strong paid leave program for every American that’s guaranteed, accessible, and encouraged without stigma or penalty,” she wrote. 

At the DealBook Online Summit in November, as paid leave looked like it would get entirely cut from Build Back Better, she pushed again for a federal paid family leave law, noting that such policies translate to “economic growth and success, but it also just allows people to have that very sacred time as a family.” 

The Archewell Foundation also made donations to Team Rubicon, Welcome.Us, the Human First Coalition, which have worked to settle Afghan refugees into the U.S., as well as the refugee mental-health organization Humanity Crew.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.