Lester analyzes why private markets do not (for the most part) provide paid family leave insurance. She argues that the goal of increasing women’s workforce attachment is a defensible basis on which to justify state intervention to create paid family leave, and to finance it in a way that spreads its costs across society. She describes theoretical predictions and empirical findings on the labor market effects of paid family leave programs and objections to government subsidized paid family leave. She analyzes different methods of benefit financing, explains how costshifting affects who actually pays for a benefit and explores reform options. She discusses some general features a paid leave program ought to have by illustrating with examples of implementation models.