Belinda Nkechi Idinmachi, CIM’s Post

Let’s talk a little more about paternity leaves or may be family leaves!

Should we have equal parental benefits for pregnancies? 🐣 That means, equal paternity leave v maternity leave. ✋ Hold on a minute, Before the ladies start their war cry and demand their male counterparts “bear their equal share of the pregancy as well” Or before you men break the beers out in celebration of a couple more weeks of time-off Hear me out. :::::: In Singapore, a pregnant lady is entitled to 4 months of paid maternity leave by the government. In contrast, their male spouse is entitled to a month of paid paternity leave. Sure It is the lady who → holds the foetus in her womb all of 10 months, → has to go through the labour process, → and breastfeed their kid. All three of which are award-worthy tasks of their own. There is no doubt they deserve that longer break to recover from this journey. The thing is this “inequality” could result in some unintended consequences at their workplaces, such as: • An expected longer period away from the workplace for women, leading to potentially unconcious biases against pregnant workers • This longer period away from the workplace could also lead to women having to make a difficult choice between career progression vs having a kid • Excuses by their male counterparts on their limitations to contribute physically given their very “limited” paternity leave 😒 Sure, some parts of the maternity leave could be shared between spouses, but the uneven start state already creates a discourse that could potentially be felt between partners, Not exactly the best way to start building a family. . Instead let’s consider this: → Base entitlement of 2.5 months newborn leave for both spouses. . “Jevon, I know how to do math. It all still adds up to 5 months. Does it make a difference?” . Yes. Here’s why. This alternative signals instead that: • Workplaces should view pregnancies of equal impact to both spouses. • There should not be an unconcious bias that women are expected to spend more time away from work to take care of a newborn versus a man. • Men are expected to play an equally important role in the early stages of caring for a newborn And of course, retain the flexibility for each spouse to transfer some of their entitlement to the other where needed. ::::::: What’s your take - Yay? Or too much “gender equality” on this one? :::::: p.s. My previous employer granted 6 months of paternity or maternity leave to their employees. How crazy is that? ——— I am Jevon and I write about nurturing a growth mindset, fostering empathy and engagement in the #FutureOfWork, and parenthood lessons. If you are reading, Thank you! Hearing from you would be nice 🙂 Like/ Comment/ DM/ Shout/ Follow/ Reach out! #LinkedInforcreators #LinkedInCommunity #FutureofWork #benefits #parenthood #childcare

Statues, Slings, and the Business Case for Equal Parental Leave Last week, the campaign group The Dad Shift made headlines by tying baby slings to male statues across central London. Pregnant Then Screwed has run similar campaigns in the past. Their message? The UK has the worst paternity leave in Europe, with just two weeks of statutory pay. While some firms top up paternity benefits, most don't offer extended paid leave for fathers - a stark contrast to policies in other countries. Firms with the best parental leave policies provide equal benefits to all new parents. But the business case for this may not be obvious, especially for smaller, growing firms with tighter margins. Here's why equal parental leave is a strategic play, not a cost: ☑ Tap into the full talent pool.  Unequal parental leave perpetuates hiring biases against women, especially in smaller firms and in higher-paid roles. Without benefit parity, the increased cost of maternity pay continues to disadvantage female candidates. ☑ Retain talent. Addidat's data shows firms recruit and maintain women equally in lower paid roles but struggle to maintain gender parity as employees climb the ranks (over 16% drop off from lower quartile to upper quartile by pay). As companies grow, the true cost of losing top performers - from hiring replacements to lost institutional knowledge - can be crippling. By supporting all working parents, you'll reap the rewards in improved retention, engagement, and continuity with scale. ☑ Drive perpetual meaningful change. As with all diversity initiatives, meaningful change can only come from those who have power. Diversity initiatives often falter when those in power haven’t directly experienced the challenges that deep rooting inequality presents. Equalising leave helps leaders empathise with the realities of work-life balance, spurring investment in policies that support working parents, and delivering change and benefits for years to come. ☑ Reputational advantage from social impact. By equalising parental leave, fathers take on more of the mental load and logistics of childcare, decreasing the home life pressure on women that often sees mothers leave the workforce, or chose to remain in lower paid positions.  An equal parental leave policy is a clear indication to current and potential employees and clients that you are serious about equity in the workplace. At Addidat, we've implemented equal parental leave, knowing the challenges for a small business. But we believe in the long game. Investing in our team is critical, and as a female-led company, we champion how equal policies drive wider social change that benefits us all. See more pictures from the campaign and The Guardian coverage: https://lnkd.in/ecDBDc7X

What does longer paternity leave (entitlement for fathers-to-be) mean to you? Me? A step towards gender equality in the workplace. But not in the way you are thinking. :::::: I read an article by Straits Times featuring Novartis and their 16-week paid paternity leave. Not-withstanding how caregiver roles can be split equally (obviously fathers can’t breastfeed their kids, neither can they take the place of their wives to bear the child for 9months in their own bodies), This is definitely a welcomed change. An additional pair of hands, To deal with a highly-stressed point of time in the couple’s lives. ::::::: But today I am not talking about that. Instead, allow me to share a workplace story from my Finance lens. In 2022, my ex-company made a decision to extend paid maternity leave to 6 months. 👀 And along with it, Paid paternity leave as well. 🤯 6. Whole. Months. Every single employee expecting a child worldwide. . The next thing I knew, I had a couple of urgent calls from my manufacturing plant heads. “Jevon! SOS! Even the men in my team are going to be entitled to taking 6-months out of work. How am I going to plan my workforce?” “What kind of contingencies should we have in place? What spending risks to call out?” All very, very fair and logical questions. . We spent the next couple of weeks having honest conversations with soon-to-be-fathers and mothers about their out-of-office plans. Surprisingly to my plant heads, our employees were actually willing to be rational and “adult” about it. They discussed extensively about co-workers covering their absences, work that could be de-prioritized in the meantime, staggered parental leave among others. With the collective effort, we developed manpower plans that made sense for everyone. At no additional cost to the business. A win for the people. A win for the company. :::::: Through this all, I made an interesting observation. While the workplace is generally accepting of women being out-of-office for an extended period of time due to maternity, the extension of this entitlement to men created quite a stir. It made me reflect on perceived gender roles in the workplace, Are men’s roles seen as more critical, and their absence more impactful? While women are assumed to prioritize caregiving duties? It does then beg the question of whether the imbalanced “entitlements” could unintentionally affect the way career progression decisions are made. Promotions High profile projects Secondment opportunities etc. :::::: Which is why every time I read a story like that which evens out the entitlements and hence corporate playing field between men and women, I applaud it. Let’s strive towards creating a culture that helps remove unconscious biases in the workplace, So that everyone can be seen for their best potential and their best work. :::::: Would you be for or against a 4-month paternity leave? ——— I am Jevon, would love to hear your thoughts!

Deloitte UK has taken a groundbreaking step by equalising parental leave, becoming the first of the Big Four accounting firms to offer fathers the same paternity pay as maternity pay for mothers. Starting January 1, 2025, all new parents at Deloitte will be entitled to 26 weeks of fully-paid family leave from day one of employment. This is a significant increase from the previous four weeks of full pay for paternity leave. This policy change is driven by new YouGov research commissioned by Deloitte, which highlights the importance of family leave in career decisions. The research found that 87% of employees consider family leave a major factor when choosing an employer, and 85% see it as crucial for staying with their current employer. Additionally, more than half of working mothers (54%) believe that increased parental leave for their partners would help them advance in their careers. Jackie Henry, Deloitte’s managing partner for people and purpose, emphasised the need for policies that support all parents in balancing work and family responsibilities. She stated, “Equalising paid parenting leave for all parents is an important step in improving gender equality and giving families the opportunity to share responsibility right from the early days of parenthood.” In addition to equalising parental leave, Deloitte is introducing other supportive measures. These include up to 12 weeks of additional paid leave for parents whose child requires neonatal care, five days of paid leave per year for carers, and paid time off for fertility treatment. https://lnkd.in/e9diM-Fe #ParentalLeave #GenderEquality #WorkingParents

Jevon (Jiehan) Yang I’m hijacking your post to discuss another aspect of workforce and that is #humanresource and how we manage it. It is challenging to manage manpower issues when it comes to maternity and paternity leaves, paid or not. As challenging as it may be, it is always a good strategy to engage the parties involved to formulate the solutions. What’s the advantage of a horizontally implemented instead of a vertically imposed solution? * it is practical because the solution is crafted by the people who are executing it: by the people for the people. * it facilitates the taking of ownership through solution crafting: when people craft a solution, they get to own it. * it promotes trust between staff and management as there would be open sharing of problems and solutions: win-win situation. (See Jevon (Jiehan) Yang’s post below) Let us work toward ‘bettering’ our workplace synergy by changing our #perspective from thinking that only one method works. Redefine #inclusivity to mean inclusion of opinions, ideas and solutions from every level of our organisation.

The idea of a *completely equal parental leave* policy is something I’ve thought about (and talked about) for many years in various roles I’ve had. Implementing this policy at Addidat from Day 1 is something I’m incredibly proud of. Yes it will impact our cost base, yes it will mean statistically far more of the workforce take parental leave and yes it far exceeds what most global companies are offering, let alone SMEs like us. However it also means that from Day 1 I never even considered the increased ‘business risk’ of hiring women, from Day 1 I could explain to all male joiners that I want them to have the same opportunity to spend extended quality time with their children and from Day 1 it means we are building a business where we expect many of the team to take parental leave. We are building robust processes to cover parental leave, working on the assumption that ALL parents will then feel able and supported to return to work. It will just feel normal, equitable, fair. If that means we retain the incredibly talented team we are building at Addidat - the business case more than pays for itself.

"𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗼𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗲𝘀, 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘀: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲" Fatherhood is evolving, and so should workplaces. Paternity leave isn’t just about time off—it’s a bold step toward shared parenting, gender equality, and stronger family bonds. Progressive Indian companies are setting benchmarks in this space. For instance, Zomato offers 26 weeks of fully paid paternity leave, recognising the importance of fathers being present during the formative months of their child’s life. Wipro provides 8 weeks of paid paternity leave, extending it to adoptive fathers and caregivers, while Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) supports new fathers with 15 days of paid leave. These policies aren’t just benefits—𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆’𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲. Research highlights that children thrive emotionally and academically when fathers are actively involved in their early lives. Moreover, such policies contribute to workplace diversity and productivity, as shared caregiving enables mothers to return to work with confidence, advancing their careers. Globally, the conversation is shifting, with countries like 𝗦𝘄𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗽 𝘁𝗼 𝟰𝟴𝟬 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲 and companies like the London Stock Exchange leading with 26 weeks of paid paternity leave. While India still has a long way to go in making paternity leave mandatory across sectors, the private sector’s initiatives are paving the way for a more equitable future. This International Men’s Day, it’s time to rethink caregiving norms. By encouraging fathers to take paternity leave, we’re not just supporting families; we’re driving change, breaking stereotypes, and creating workplaces that value every role equally. Fathers, your presence matters—and it’s time the world recognises it. 🖱️ Get in touch with us at The HR Policy or https://thehrpolicy.com/ to understand how! 🎀 We're also offering you a gift of two free downloads to showcase the work we do here at The HR Policy. Head over to https://lnkd.in/gEZ6z6DF to get your copy of the same. #TheHRPolicy #HRpolicy #InternationalMensDay #PaternityLeaveMatters #FathersInFocus #GenderEquality #WorkLifeBalance 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀: 🔹 https://shorturl.at/W0YI1 🔹 https://shorturl.at/x71ft 🔹 https://shorturl.at/BkyGC

While diversity, equity and inclusion is in the news, it's worth talking about Deloitte's latest announcement, offering equalized parental leave -- 26 weeks of full pay -- in the UK. That's a huge step up especially for men in the country, who have the worst paternity leave offer in Europe. By law, they are offered two weeks of leave and are offered less than the minimum wage during that time off. That might explain why a third of men didn't take any leave after their children are born: They might not be able to afford it. This can also have an indirect impact on entrenching gender roles at home, according to studies. While DEI programs are often confused (or actively misconstrued), efforts like this are a clear reflection of a plan to create a better working environment for staff, and to encourage them to join in the first place. According to polling by YouGov for Deloitte, 87% of employees say the parental leave policy is a major factor when they choose a role while 85% say it's a big reason why they choose to stay. As part of the news, Deloitte said it hoped the policy would also support the careers of working women, many of whom reported that they would be able to make more progress if their partners were able to offer more support at home. What's your company's parental leave offer?

👶 You often see me advocating here for paid parental leave in the United States and I need to emphasize that it's not just for birthing parents. Offering leave for nonbirthing parents is crucial, enabling them to bond with their child, support their partner, and also positively impact how they show up when they return to work. 💜 In my personal experience, my husband's paternity leave improved our postpartum experience, enhanced his bond with our daughter, and shaped him into an incredible partner and parent. What would we do without you, Nick Kremchek?! "When nonbirthing partners take parental leave, it normalizes caregiving for everyone and begins to remove the motherhood penalty that women face. Recent research has found that when men return to work after paternity leave, they show greater empathy for working moms; report fewer sexist beliefs; and become stronger advocates for family-friendly policies" https://lnkd.in/eZDyXAmd #paidfamilyleave #parentalleave #paternityleave #maternityleave