Americans will remember the day the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade for years to come. The decision triggered some states to make decisions that restricted—and in some instances stripped—reproductive rights.
Once the news hit, many companies began speaking out against the ruling. Larger organizations had already started laying the groundwork for extended reproductive benefits before the SCOTUS decision. Companies like the Walt Disney Co., AT&T, and Facebook parent Meta have promised to cover employees’ expenses if they have to travel out-of-state for abortion services.
But policies to ensure access to abortion aren’t enough. Anyone with a uterus who lives in states with abortion bans now may be forced to bear the consequences of an unwanted or dangerous pregnancy for the rest of their lives. And it’s not just about pregnancy and giving birth: It’s about what happens after for the people who weren’t ready or never intended to become parents.
If companies genuinely want to help employees of all genders participate in an equal society and, in turn, enable them to be their best and happiest at work, they need to think about the bigger picture.
A good starting point is to change societal expectations around parenting, specifically with regard to parental leave. Mandatory paid parental leave can go a long way in doing just that. Here’s how.
It boosts productivity and improves retention
According to a study published in the Harvard Review of Psychiatry, women who take at least 12 weeks of maternity leave experience better health and improved mental well-being. When new mothers’ partners are there to support them in the beginning, it can help reduce burnout and level the playing field for all working mothers.
New parents need to recover after childbirth, and it’s time we acknowledge that both parents should be home with their baby to adjust to their new family dynamic, establish roles and norms, and get in a groove as a family unit. If fathers can take parental leave, their partners can heal appropriately after childbirth, and together they can establish habits, norms, and responsibilities in those early weeks. It also allows both parents to bond with their child the way most mothers and fathers want to.
Parental leave allows for a more even distribution of responsibilities between both parents, lessening the burden that often falls on women by default. When both parents contribute, balancing work and home responsibilities becomes much more manageable.
It can help close the gender wage gap
According to The National Partnership for Women & Families, the current gender wage gap is “even larger when measured over the long term because women are often pushed to spend time out of the workforce, in part due to caregiving.” This is compounded by the perception that workers are less committed to their jobs when they take parental leave, especially for men.
Many new dads cite workplace pressures as a significant factor in the length of leave they took. Normalizing fathers taking parental leave levels the playing field at home and the office and can help remove the unconscious (and sometimes blatantly conscious) biases that impact women’s ability to pursue career growth during pregnancy. From the moment a woman finds out she’s pregnant, there is a ripple effect of impact on her career. Discrimination against pregnant women in the workplace—though not acknowledged or even many times conscious—is very real.
That’s because there is an unspoken assumption that once she has the baby, she will be less committed and distracted by family obligations and childcare. And she will be gone for multiple months very soon. What does that mean for the prospect of pursuing a promotion or interviewing for a new job? In many cases, that means she won’t pursue that opportunity and, in the off chance she does, in many cases she won’t be selected for it due to her pregnancy. If men taking equal length parental leave became the norm, the playing field would be a bit more level.
It supports families of color
As with many societal inequities, the Roe ruling will likely have an outsized impact on people of color. Just 43% of Black workers and 25% of Latinx workers have access to paid parental leave, according to a 2018 report published by The Center For Law And Social Policy.
With people of color earning significantly less than their white counterparts, lack of access to paid leave further exacerbates this inequality. With greater access to paid parental leave benefits, workers of color are more likely to have access to a more equal playing field.
Mandatory paid parental leave is a fundamental human right
Equal parenting should be incentivized, not punished. Companies that want to stand alongside their employees in the fight for fundamental human rights and gender equality must offer fully paid parental leave. Not only that, it’s crucial that they make the policy mandatory to avoid the perception that taking advantage of the policy will result in a professional penalty.
As companies continue to prioritize supporting women, they must realize how much new mothers benefit from the support of their partners. By treating parenting as equal among employees of any gender, companies signal to broader society that both parents share the onus of having a child.
It is only when that happens that we begin to chip away at the expectations that the brunt of childcare and unpaid work falls solely on the shoulders of women, ultimately limiting their ability to grow their careers, maximize their earnings, and achieve societal equality. And when people of all genders have the opportunity to realize their potential, we all win.
Lauren Nutt Bello is managing partner and president of Ready Set Rocket, a fully integrated agency bridging the divide between data and design while creating maximum impact for F500 brands and venture-backed startups.