Maternity Leave Policies for Big Tech Companies

• Tech companies are giving family leaves heavy emphasis to improve recruiting and diversity.
• The pattern that emerges among companies offering high amounts of paid leave is that they are largely for-profit institutions. 
•  Amazon, Microsoft, and IBM are among the tech companies with the best parental leave policies.

Starbucks

• Starbucks offers new mothers 18 weeks of paid maternity leave.
• The mothers on maternity leave continue receiving their full salary for the entire 18 weeks of the parental leave.
• The maternity leave at Starbucks is open for biological new mothers and adoptive or foster parents.
• Since January 2018, all Starbucks employees are entitled to paid parental leave.

Amazon

• Birth mothers at all job levels are given 20 weeks of paid leave.

• Amazon pays the employees full salaries during the 20 weeks leave.
• The mothers can take the paid maternity leave continuously or split it up as necessary within 12 months of the child's birth or adoption.
• In addition to the parental leave, Amazon offers Mothers' Rooms with breast pumps, locking doors, microwaves, and refrigerators in all offices for mothers returning from parental leave.
• In adoption cases, Amazon provides adopting parents, regardless of gender, up to $5,000 to cover single child adoption. The amount is $10,000 for sibling adoption involving two parents, who are both Amazon employees.
• Additionally, Amazon gives reimbursement for breast milk shipping expenses to support mothers while they are on leave.

Google

• Google provides mothers with 22-24 weeks of paid maternity leave after giving birth.
• The company's payment covers the employee's full salary during parental leave.
• Other benefits in Google's parental leave policy include Mothers' Rooms in offices, parent gurus, backup childcare, internal parent support groups, and peer mentoring from other parents.
• Google's maternity leave increase to more than 18 weeks reduced attrition among new mothers by 50 percent.

Microsoft

• Microsoft grants 20 weeks of paid leave to birth mothers.
• Microsoft's payment covers the employee's full salary during parental leave.
• Since January 2018, Google assists with fertility treatments and covers expenses like 3 fertility treatment cycles, embryo freezing and storage, genetic testing, and surrogacy-related expenses.
• Microsoft grants the adopting parent, mother or father, adoption assistance of up to $10,000 per child in adoption cases.
• In addition to the parental leave, Microsoft gives perks such as on-site New Mothers' Rooms, Welcome Baby Box for newborns, and other gifts.

Maternity Leave Policies for Startups

• Many startups provide various parental leave options that benefit mothers and fathers after child delivery. Some startups with remarkable maternity leave policies are Reddit, Etsy, and Stack Overflow.

Reddit

• According to Vacation Tracker, Reddit's parental leave policies are among the best in the tech industry. This startup experiences an almost 100% return rate of parents after child birth.
• Reddit's maternity leave policies emphasize flexibility and inclusivity.  
• The company grants mothers 16 weeks of paid leave after giving birth. The same number of weeks is granted to adoptive/foster parents, mothers or fathers.
• Reddit pays the employee's full salary during the 16-week parental leave.
• Reddit provides birth mothers with an additional 4 months of wholly paid disability leave to allow them to physically recover. The mothers can utilize these benefits continuously up to 1 year after child delivery or split them as necessary.
• The startup offers flexible time off after the child's arrival, a child care stipend for use after the mother returns to work, and comfy on-site breastfeeding rooms.
• Furthermore, Reddit connects birth mothers with Cleo, a female-founded company, for 24/7 parenting support and early childcare development resources like lactation consulting.
• Reddit has a resource library that provides birth mothers with tips regarding welcoming a new baby.

Etsy

• Vacation Tracker identifies Etsy as among the champions when considering parental leave policies in startups.
• Etsy offers up to 26 weeks of paid parental leave. The leave is gender-neutral as it covers both mothers and fathers.
• The maternity policy allows for the full payment of the employee's salary during the 26-week parental leave.
• Under the New Parent Support Credit, the company's maternity leave policy allows employees to trade up to 14 weeks of their maternity leave in exchange for a cash payment.
• Furthermore, Etsy gives backup childcare services, a mother's room in offices, and a Parents Employee Resource Group as a part of the maternity leave policy.

Stack Overflow

• Stack Overflow is a New York City-based startup that offers the most dynamic and innovative parental leave policies in the tech industry.
• The startup offers 100% salary pay during the parental leave. The company grants primary caregiving parents 16 weeks of parental leave.
• Stack Overflow gives employees returning from maternity leave the option to work part-time for at most one year.
• As part of the maternity leave policy, Stack Overflow offers its employees a $500 stipend to order food while on parental leave.

Maternity Leave Policies for Forward-Thinking Non-profits

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

• The company used to grant up to 52 weeks of paid maternity leave before rolling it back to 26 weeks.
• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's maternity policy provides 100% salary payment during the maternity leave period.
• The company gives new parents at least 6 months of paid leave. The policy allows for a $20,000 taxable stipend for a parent returning from maternity leave to assist with child care needs and associated family needs.
• The paternal leave program in the company is open to both mothers and fathers. In case the two are workers at the foundation, they are both eligible for the paid leave, and they can even decide to take it concurrently.

Change.org

• Change.org offers 18 weeks of fully-paid parental leave to all employees becoming new parents.
• The payment made during the maternity leave cover the parent's full salary for the entire 18 weeks parental leave period.
• The parental leave applies equally to mothers and fathers, whether biological or foster parent.

Research Strategy