Naomi Osaka advocates for paid family leave in new campaign
New mom Naomi Osaka is partnering with Bobbie to introduce a grant to support paid leave for new parents.
Naomi Osaka has officially returned to tennis from maternity leave, but not without acknowledging and showing her support for the roughly 73% of American families without paid family leave.
In a new campaign spot uploaded to Instagram, the four-time Grand Slam champion announced that she’s partnering with pediatric nutrition company Bobbie to help fund families who need it most.
The spot opens with Osaka, 26, cradling her 6-month-old daughter, Shai, as her voiceover notes how society will wonder what pushes her past the challenges of returning to tennis. Ultimately, she explains her daughter is the reason.
“Parents, we push harder,” Osaka says toward the end of the video as she smiles at Shai, whom she shares with rapper Cordae, 26.
In the post’s lengthy caption, Osaka further explains how and why she intends to help other families who do not have the grace of paid family leave.
“Being a parent is hard,” she begins in the post’s caption. “As a professional athlete, I am no stranger to hard work or early mornings, but the last [six] months as a new mom has given me a whole new appreciation and understanding of what parents do every single day.”
The tennis pro notes how parents — and mothers especially — are told children will “be a barrier” to personal goals and career milestones. However, she says, “I have discovered that Shai is my ultimate motivator; she makes me want to achieve greatness.”
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She continues, “I’m proud of myself for continuing to chase my dreams while also being a mom. And I recognize that I’m fortunate to have the support to return to work this month on my own terms, in my own time. So many American parents don’t have that choice. But we [all] deserve it.”
Osaka explains that she’s partnering with Bobbie to speak up about the lack of federal paid leave and to advocate for new parents nationwide. She’s also throwing her support behind a federal paid family leave plan which, if passed, would grant 12 mandatory weeks of paid leave and job protection, and guarantee a minimum monthly benefit of $580 for American families.
In the meantime, Osaka and Bobbie are looking to help families now by launching the N.O. Support Grants, which will award $580 each to 50 families who apply.
“It’s not a solution, but it’s a start,” writes Osaka.” I hope you will join me in getting loud about this issue on behalf of all new parents in America.”
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