Facebook CEO takes paternity leave

Facebook, the world’s biggest online social network, allows its USA employees to take up to four months of paid maternity or paternity leave, which can be used all at once or throughout the first year of their child’s life, a policy which is generous by US standards. Amazon and Adobe provide up to 20 weeks paid maternity leave and six weeks paid paternity leave, reported The News Independent.

Goler said the global reforms, which will be applied to all of Facebook’s 11,000 plus employees – including new mothers, fathers, and same-sex parents – are part of Facebook’s ambition to become one of the top businesses for families, however they are defined.

That’s starting to change, of course, as more companies – even those outside the cushy confines of Silicon Valley – add more paid leave for fathers or come up with innovative solutions.

In reviewing our parental leave policies, we have decided to make this change because it’s the right thing to do for our people and their families. Goldman Sachs doubled its paid paternity leave to four weeks this summer, and Johnson & Johnson now gives new dads eight weeks of paid leave.

According to Pew Research, nearly half of fathers are anxious that they don’t spend enough time with their children. It seems unlikely he’ll be completely out of touch from Facebook (though neither are many professional women who step away for a few months to take care of a new child). All new parents in all of our offices worldwide, including those who had or adopted a baby in 2015 and were Facebook employees at the time, will be eligible. Recently, Yahoo’s CEO Marissa Mayer announced that she would go on a limited period of leave after her twin girls are born and that she will be working throughout her pregnancy period. “This is a very personal decision, and I’ve chose to take two months of paternity leave when our daughter arrives”, his post reads.

Silicon Valley technology firms have rushed to extend parental leave allowances and other benefits in an attempt to recruit and retain talent, but many workers do not take advantage for fear of falling behind at work or missing out on promotions.