Abrahamson-Richards, Pelletier, and Romich Co-Author Study on Wages and Parental Leave Among American Indian and Alaska Native Working Mothers
Posted: 11/20/2025 (CSDE Research)
CSDE Trainee Tess Abrahamson-Richards (Social Work), former CSDE Trainee Elizabeth Pelletier, CSDE Affiliate Jennifer Romich (Social Work), and co-author Kilohana Haitsuka recently published an article titled, “Perinatal Wage Equity, Parental Leave Access, and Reproductive Justice Among American Indian and Alaska Native Working Mothers in Washington State,” in Social Service Review. The authors used mixed methods and grounded their analysis in an Indigenous theoretical framework. Quantitative findings reveal significant perinatal earnings disruptions, disparities in both earned wage income and projected paid leave eligibility, and intersectional inequities in projected paid leave eligibility. Qualitative results underscore the serious adverse impacts of insufficient paid leave access for working AIAN mothers, as well as both the inequities and the individual and community strengths they experience after welcoming a new child. This is the first study of state-funded paid family medical leave or of perinatal earnings volatility to focus on Native people.