As working caregivers struggled during the pandemic, many employers stepped up to help—offering more flexible work schedules, increased parental leave and child care benefits, and a lot of patience and humor when kids (or pets) crashed Zoom meetings.
But now some of those same companies are responding to recession fears by reducing or cutting benefits, including parental leave. The number of businesses offering paid maternity leave dropped from 53% in 2020 to 35% in 2022. Paternity leave for fathers also took a hit, going from being offered by 44% of employers to only 27% in the same time span. This hurts working families.
Companies can better support and retain working fathers by offering a generous paternity leave policy. We conducted our own independent research to find some of the companies with the best paternity leave to serve as inspiration for companies who want to improve their own policies and, humble brag, we made the list!
Here are the top 30 companies with the best paternity leave policies:
1. Netflix
Number of paid weeks off: 52
HR leaders take note, Netflix is the gold standard when it comes to creating the best paternity leave at companies. You won’t find it clearly stated on the streaming company’s website (or at least we couldn’t), but it’s been widely reported that Netflix offers up to a full year of paid-time off for birth or adoptive parents of any gender. The company’s official policy states “take care of your baby and yourself,” and adds that most new parents take off between four and eight months of paid leave.
2. Etsy
Number of paid weeks off: 26
New parents at the hub for DIY creators are eligible to take 26 weeks off with full pay when they become a parent through either birth or adoption. Hopefully they ordered lots of adorable onesies from Etsy makers before setting their out-of-office messages!
3. Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Number of paid weeks off: 26
In addition to providing up to 26 weeks of paid parental leave for parents of either gender to bond with their child, the information technology company also offers a parental transition support program. This is a powerful retention tool, as it empowers parents to work part time for up to three years as they return to work following parental leave.
4. Lululemon
Number of paid weeks off: 26
Athletic retailer Lululemon’s parenthood program grants up to six months of paid parental leave, which applies to maternity, paternity, and adoption leaves. The amount of paid time off employees qualify for is dependent on how long they’ve been with the company—which helps build employee loyalty.
5. Spotify
Number of paid weeks off: 26
The music streaming service offers its global force of employees 26 weeks of paid parental leave, and hopefully unlimited access to the latest and greatest lullabies.
6. Dropbox
Number of paid weeks off: 24
Dropboxxers at the file sharing service are eligible for 24 weeks of paid parental leave, as well as family leave, lactation consultations, and assistance with adoption and/or surrogacy.
7. Bain & Company
Number of paid weeks off: 21+
New parents are eligible for 21 weeks of paid parental leave at the global management consulting company, with the option to extend it to 26 weeks through the use of paid vacation time. The policy applies to biological parents, as well as to parents who welcome a child through adoption or surrogacy.
8. Atlassian
Number of paid weeks off: 20
To facilitate bonding with new children, software company Atlassian offers 20 weeks of paid parental leave for non-birthing parents, and 26 weeks of paid leave for birthing parents.
9. Goldman Sachs
Number of paid weeks off: 20
All new parents, regardless of gender, are entitled to 20 weeks of paid parental leave at investment banking firm Goldman Sachs.
10. Pinterest
Number of paid weeks off: 20+
The image sharing site provides a minimum of 20 weeks of paid leave for all parents to bond with their newborn or newly adopted child. Birthing parents are entitled to 26 weeks. Pinterest’s policy goes above and beyond by also providing 12 weeks of paid family care leave for parents of a newborn in the NICU, and four weeks of paid leave to employees who experience a pregnancy loss through miscarriage. These are the types of policies that more companies should consider implementing, as employees are more likely to stay loyal to a company that they know offers compassionate leave during a tough time on their journey to parenthood.
11. Twitter
Number of paid weeks off: 20
Employees of any gender at the little blue bird can spend up to 20 weeks at home with their new child with full pay. Hopefully they spend some of it tweeting adorable photos of their baby!
12. Change.org
Number of paid weeks off: 18
Both new moms and new dads at the petition platform are entitled to 18 weeks of paid time off to bond with their child. We bet they’ll probably “change” quite a few diapers in that time!
13. Google
Number of paid weeks off: 18
To keep pace with other tech companies’ strong paternity leave policies, the search engine company bumped up paid parental leave from 12 weeks to 18 weeks for all parents in 2022, and to 24 weeks for parents who give birth. It also allows employees to take up to eight weeks of leave for caregiving responsibilities.
14. Uber
Number of paid weeks off: 18
Ride share company Uber provides all new parents with 18 weeks of paid time off to bond with the newest addition to their family.
15. Adobe
Number of paid weeks off: 16
Computer software company Adobe provides 16 weeks of paid parental leave for new parents, as well as paid medical leave for birth mothers. The company also offers fertility benefits and up to $25,000 in adoption reimbursement fees.
16. Bank of America
Number of paid weeks off: 16+
The banking and financial services company offers 16 weeks of fully paid parental leave, with the option of an additional 10 weeks of leave that is not fully paid.
17. Care.com
Number of paid weeks off: 16
We’re pretty proud that we make the cut ourselves when it comes to our paid parental leave. Care is one of our core values, and we believe that means providing paid time off to our employees so they can bond with their new bundle of joy. Any employee, regardless of gender, is entitled to 16 weeks of paid leave if they or their partner gives birth, adopts, or has a child via surrogacy. Care also offers $5,000 for qualified adoption expenses, a $1,000 new parent bonus, and $300 new parents can put towards the cost of take-out meals. In addition, Care offers fertility benefits, a phased-in eight-week return from parental leave for FMLA-eligible employees, and breastfeeding support. Offering family care benefits is not only the right thing to do, but it helps us retain a stellar team of talented employees in a time when many companies are struggling with retention.
18. Deloitte
Number of paid weeks off: 16
Advisory services business Deloitte offers 16 weeks of gender-neutral paid leave for employees to care for family members. This includes welcoming the arrival of a new child, caring for a spouse or domestic partner, or tending to the health of a parent.
19. Elastic
Number of paid weeks off: 16
This SaaS company offers 16 weeks of paid parental leave, and also touts its generous family-forming benefits.
20. EY
Number of paid weeks off: 16
EY, or Ernst & Young, is a global professional firm known for tabulating the results for the Academy Awards and the Emmys, and for offering 16 weeks of paid parental leave to all new parents at the company.
21. Reddit
Number of paid weeks off: 16
The social news aggregator company co-founded by Alexis Ohanian (aka Serena Williams’s husband) offers 4+ months of paid parental leave in addition to funds for family planning.
22. Snap Inc.
Number of paid weeks off: 16
Parents who don’t give birth are entitled to 16 weeks of full pay, with birthing parents eligible for 26 weeks of paid parental leave. The social media company also reimburses parents up to $40,000 towards adoption expenses and $80,000 towards surrogacy expenses. Oh, snap!
23. Square
Number of paid weeks off: 16
All Square employees are entitled to 16 weeks of paid time off to bond with their newborn, adopted, or foster child.
24. Zendesk
Number of paid weeks off: 16
To help new parents settle in with their new child, parents of either gender can take 16 weeks off on the company’s dime—which can be taken all at once or split up.
25. Zoom
Number of paid weeks off: 16
Both mothers and fathers are entitled to take 16 weeks off, with Zoom footing the bill. Hopefully the only Zooming new parents will be doing is with excited family members and friends!
26. Intel
Number of paid weeks off: 12
Intel expanded its paid-time program for new parents from 8 to 12 weeks in 2020. New parents also have the option to return to work on a part-time schedule for up to four weeks with full pay.
27. Microsoft
Number of paid weeks off: 12
Birth mothers receive 20 weeks of paid time off and all other new parents receive 12 weeks of fully paid parental leave, including for adoptions and foster placements. Benefits decision makers should take note that employees are also granted up to four weeks of fully paid leave to care for an immediate family member with a serious health condition, and up to an additional eight weeks of paid leave under the company’s voluntary Washington Paid Family Leave plan. These are the types of care leave policies that employees want (and need) to manage their caregiving responsibilities.
28. Pfizer
Number of paid weeks off: 12
New parents may take at least 12 weeks of paid leave following the birth or adoption of their child, and can also take up to two weeks of paid caregiver leave each year to care for family members.
29. Salesforce
Number of paid weeks off: 12
Secondary caregivers are entitled to 12 weeks of paid parental leave from the software company, while the primary caregiver is able to take 26 weeks of paid time off. Employees are also able to take six weeks of paid time off to care for a family member’s health condition. These are the types of paid leave policies that build employee loyalty.
30. Airbnb
Number of paid weeks off: 10
The home sharing company provides all parents with the option to take 10 paid weeks off to bond with their newly born, adopted, or foster child. Airbnb also offers new parents 12 weeks to transition back to the office, allowing them to work a four-day work week while receiving 100% of their pay.
The bottom line
Offering parental leave is key in supporting your working parents. Birthing mothers need time for their bodies to heal and to bond with their new baby, and non-birthing partners also benefit from paid time off. Nearly 60 percent of men who took paternity leave said they found the hours spent on child care to be meaningful. They also reported less mental stress, and improvements in their relationships with their partners.
Another way to support your employees is by offering family care benefits like Backup Care, which is like a safety net for working caregivers. If their regular care is unavailable, Backup Care offers quality, vetted, and employer-subsidized care for employees’ loved ones. This also leads to fewer missed work days and increased productivity. Learn more about why your company should offer Backup Care.
