The United States is not as family friendly as other nations, according to a study by Harvard and McGill universities. In fact, according to the study, workplace policies for families in the United States are weaker than those of all high-income countries and many middle- and low-income countries as well.

What's more, it says, the United States is one of only five countries of 173 studied in the survey that does not guarantee some form of paid maternity leave; the others are Lesotho, Liberia, Swaziland and Papua New Guinea.

This excerpt from The Work, Family and Equity Index: How Does the United States Measure Up? offers some details.