The United States is one of the few industrialized countries in the world without any sort of unified parental leave policy. In fact, only about one-quarter of employees in the private sector have access to any sort of paid family leave. This forces many parents to return to work well before they’re ready. Worse, it even leaves parents who choose to adopt or use a surrogate with no time off whatsoever.
There may not be any chances of Congress passing a national paid family leave policy anytime soon. However, there are things couples can do to adequately prepare themselves for welcoming a new baby. This includes looking for employment opportunities with companies that offer paid parental leave.
When most women apply and interview for new jobs, they avoid asking questions about topics like paid family leave because they worry it will make them look less dedicated to their work. Even men rarely ask about parental leave policies. They assume they won’t get any time off beyond what sick time or vacation they have earned at the time their child arrives.
Furthermore, many people don’t take as much time off as they’d like when they welcome a child into their family. Most new mothers take somewhere between six to ten weeks off. Meanwhile new fathers only average one week of paternity leave — which isn’t nearly enough time for anyone. Even if parents do take more time off, a recent study by LinkedIn and Censuswide found that the majority of them face significant challenges when they return to work.
However, theSkimm, a digital media company focused on helping millennial women live their smartest lives, hopes to change the way we approach family leave here in the United States.
With the #ShowUsYourLeave initiative, theSkimm hopes to “advocate for transparency, visibility, and long overdue change” regarding paid parental leave within the United States. Within this initiative, the company is collecting petition signatures to support more expansive family leave policies and providing resources for individuals as well as businesses to start the conversation with others.
Most importantly, though, theSkimm has used this initiative to create the first-ever database of paid leave policies for US-based companies.
This entirely free and public database currently includes the paid leave policies for over 480 companies. Spanning from relatively new startups to well-established Fortune 500 companies, the list provides details for companies in nearly every business sector. In fact, you can access the entire list as it stands today and search based on company name, industry, and more.
The database also breaks down the different types of paid leave each company offers and how many weeks of leave they provide based on the specifics of the situation. This helps individuals determine not only the paid leave options for traditional childbirth, but the provisions for fertility treatment, adoption, and pregnancy loss. It even includes any additional benefits the company provides, such as health savings plans, financial support for fertility treatments, mental health benefits, remote work options, and more.
Curious if your current employer is on the list or just wondering what types of options you could receive if you decided to apply for a new position? You can check out the database in its entirety by visiting this link.
Previously published on BabyGaga.
Photo by Matilda Wormwood via Pexels.
