12 Companies With The Best Maternity Leave

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What is one company with the best maternity leave?

To help you identify companies that offer the best maternity leave, we asked CEOs and business leaders this question for their best picks. From Capital One to Pinterest, there are several companies that are profiled as providing the best maternity leave to their employees. 

Here are 12 companies with the best maternity leave:

  • Capital One
  • Adobe
  • Hilton
  • Freddie Mac
  • Dropbox
  • Etsy
  • Salesforce
  • Patagonia
  • American Express
  • Netflix
  • Ikea
  • Pinterest

 

Capital One

Capital One offers 18 weeks of paid maternity leave which is months more than you get in most other American employer programs. They also give 8 weeks of paid leave to other parents, and offer support during the adjustment and birth recovery process. Employees can use up to two weeks of their paid leave before the baby’s birth, so expectant mothers that need extra time to rest can still earn pay leading up to the big day.

Stephen Light, Nolah Mattress

Adobe

Adobe offers up to six months of paid maternity leave for birth mothers. Primary caregivers who have become parents through childbirth, surrogacy, adoption or foster care, will receive 16 weeks of paid time off. I think this is fantastic. It takes time to recover after birth and the first few months are so crucial to adjust to this new little life you’re taking care of. Hopefully, more companies will follow suit.

Katie lyon, Allegiance Flag Supply

Hilton

Hilton Worldwide continues to dominate as a Great Place to Work, and an employer of choice.  It is primarily due to their amazing benefits, and workplace culture they have established.  In 2019 right before the pandemic, Hilton increased their paid parental leave by two weeks.  This provided the birth mothers 12 weeks of paid time off, which by far makes them a leader in this space.  In addition, fathers and adoptive parents received a month of paid time to focus on “the family”.  As a former franchised Hilton team member, I am still grateful to be a recipient of the lifetime Family & Friends discount benefit.  Even in the aftermath of a pandemic, Hilton’s employees remain more than satisfied because of their CEO’s servant leadership, their ability to provide spectacular benefits, and foster a world class culture.

Tish McFadden, PHR, MSHRM, The Shine Institute

Freddie Mac

Freddie Mac doesn’t offer the longest paid time off, but they have extra perks that make the program more worthwhile than others. Along with 12 weeks of paid time off to any parents, not just birth mothers, they also provide up to $30K to help adoptive parents pay for costly adoption fees. Breast-feeding mothers can also take advantage of their incredible lactation support program, including lactation consultations before they return to work, phone support, educational classes, and in-office lactation rooms.

James Diel, Textel

Dropbox

Dropbox allows parents to take 24 paid weeks off after birth or adoption. They also reimburse up to $10,000 for adoption expenses. In my opinion, Dropbox goes above and beyond when it comes to parental leave, and more companies should follow their example.

Stephanie Venn-Watson, fatty15

Etsy

Starting in 2016, Etsy has given parents up to six months of paid parental leave. The company also offers new adoption and surrogacy benefits and coaching programs for new parents and managers. This is pretty radical in how they have extended the traditional maternity leave to something that represents what is happening in the real world. Etsy recognizes and celebrates all versions of families. They understand that building a company is a team effort, and they support their team members in modern ways. There had been a tremendously positive response from employees over this parental leave policy. And equal numbers of men and women have taken advantage of it. The policy has no adverse effects; employees still get promoted if they take this leave, and they are not punished for wanting to spend time with their children.

Mark Daoust, Quiet Light

Salesforce

Salesforce has a flexible parental leave policy. For maternity purposes, they allow their qualified employees to take a leave for up to 26 weeks. The company understands that the first few months of childbirth are essential for both the mother and the baby. New parents can take advantage of the gradual return-to-work policy, allowing them to work four days per week for one month. This enables them to have more time to attend to the needs of their children without sacrificing their opportunity to earn at work.

Allan Stolc, Bankly.dk

Patagonia

Patagonia offers 16 weeks of paid parental leave for mothers and 12 weeks for fathers, but their benefits extend well beyond your baby’s first year of life. Every Patagonia parent can use their on-site child care centers at head office, and all of their distribution centers. In addition, parents that require a caretaker on business trips will have one paid for by the company. The high level of support and cost savings parents see with employer-provided daycare and perks puts this company well above the rest.

Scott Lieberman, Touchdown Money

American Express

American Express is progressive in work/life balance with the exception of not having paid maternity leave. Instead, any employee with the company one year is entitled to twenty-weeks paid parental leave. Amex also reimburses up to $35,000 for fertility treatments, surrogacy and adoption expenses. The company advocates parental leave through a program entitled: #Don’tMissAMinute which includes fathers talking about their experiences with life/work balance. Upon returning to work, American Express has a program for new fathers called “Focus on Fathers,” which features roundtable discussions with other new fathers as well as facilitators discussing life/work balance hacks. These policies reflect an institutional commitment to life/work balance second to none in the financial sector.

Patricio Paucar, Navi

Netflix

Netflix leads the large companies with one-year paid leave for both birth parents and non-birth parents. When introduced in 2015, the policy didn’t extend to Netflix’s DVD division or hourly employees, flaws that were remedied a couple years later. Most women take “only” four to eight months leave, but the fact they can take twelve months leave reflects the caring culture Netflix has sought to create. Upon returning to work, employees can opt to return full-time, part-time, or to return and take any of the fifty-two weeks they didn’t immediately use later on. All in all, it’s both generous and smart as a recruiting tool and a reflection of a progressive attitude toward work/life balance.

Nirav Sheth, Anatta Design

Ikea

IKEA’s program is remarkably generous. Their reports and job offers highlight the fact that having a career and a family life should not be mutually exclusive. Regarding maternity leave, employees with at least one year of tenure receive their full base payment for the first six weeks of leave and half of their base pay for an additional six weeks. Employees who have been with IKEA for three or more years can receive total compensation for eight weeks and half pay for eight weeks. These benefits are available to mothers and fathers and can cover time off after a birth, adoption, or placement of a foster child. People with less than a year of tenure are also eligible for disability-related pay. Apart from maternity leave, they have a competitive family benefits package that supports workers at all stages of their life. Key benefits include enhanced statutory maternity, paternity, shared and adoption leave, fertility leave, and a free day for children’s first day of school.

Nicole Ostrowska, Zety

Pinterest

Pinterest shows that they care about all kinds of new parents. The company provides up to $5,000 for adoption assistance and $20,000 for surrogacy. They also pay for parenting coaches and books as well as online learning disability classes. In addition, if you travel for work, Pinterest will pay to have breast milk shipped to your home! Lastly, moms and dads get four months off and after that are required to work only one day a week for full pay! Pinterest’s messaging is that the growth of an employee’s family should not come at the expense of career growth.

Erin Banta, Pepper

BestCompaniesAZ is your resource for researching the top companies you should apply to. If you are a working parent, consider applying to one of the best workplaces for working parents!

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