The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for employees and businesses alike. To understand the impact of paid leave policies on companies during this crisis, Paid Leave for the US (PL+US) and Promundo, in collaboration with the Parental Leave Corporate Task Force (PLCTF) conducted the first of its kind global survey of businesses.

The resulting report includes key findings from 2020 and recommendations for paid leave policies in the private and public sector to better meet the needs of businesses and employees in a post-pandemic world.

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KEY FINDINGS

1.

Paid leave policies help employers and employees weather the pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic created significant challenges for companies and working people alike. In light of such challenges, companies reported that having paid leave policies in place was a key factor to ensure greater employee morale and workplace satisfaction, as well as reduced rates of attrition and turnover.

2.

The pandemic accelerated a culture of caregiving, increasing demands for workplace flexibility and paid leave policies.

Caregiving is now front and center in workplaces as a result of the pandemic. In response, companies are embracing paid leave, and working to emphasize flexibility as key to their culture – something that may well last beyond the pandemic.

3.

A work culture that promotes gender equality through equitable use of paid parental and caregiving leave can help stem the tide of women leaving the workforce.

Female employees are more likely to take on caregiving responsibilities, and globally, we’re seeing the toll that’s taken as women leave the workforce in order to manage these responsibilities. Three factors are crucial to preventing women from exiting the workforce: strong paid leave policies, flexible working cultures that support both women’s and men’s needs, and the encouragement of men’s uptake of leave, especially paid parental leave.

4.

The pandemic has revealed a critical need for a permanent paid leave program in the US.

The lack of a national paid leave program in the US results in a patchwork of policies that only cover 20 percent of private sector workers and 26 percent of state and local government workers. While a national paid family leave policy receives consistent bipartisan public support, businesses are increasingly joining the chorus and seeing the benefits.

Quote by James Loduca, Senior Director of Global Inclusion & Diversity at Twitter: "Our second child arrived in the middle of a global pandemic. Now more than ever, I'm grateful to work at a company like Twitter that values paid parental leave f

Quote by Gary Barker, President and CEO of Promundo & Co-Chair of Parental Leave Corporate Task Force: “If we want new fathers to take parental leave – and we should – a great policy is not enough. We need men in senior leadership positions to

Quote by Samantha Rudolph, Co-Founder + CEO of Babyation: “One major impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is the number of women and mothers forced to leave the workforce due to caregiving responsibilities. At Babyation, we're ‘unapologetically for mom

Quote by Patrick Matos, CEO of CareLuLu: “Family leave has always been important, but even more so during this pandemic. A federal paid leave program is critical to the success of small businesses and their employees.”

Quote by Ed Jaffe, Founder & CEO of Demo Solutions: “We reinforce to our employees that taking time to care for an ill parent, to have a baby, or to care for your child who can't go to daycare due to COVID, won't negatively affect the company or

Quote by Priya Amin, COO of Flexable: "I don't believe in work/life balance, I believe in life/work fit. This means that work is just one component of life - and COVID made life and work collide with one another."

Quote by Heather Whaling, Founder & President of Geben Communication: "As a small business founder and owner, I am adamant that our employees take the full amount of paid leave when they need. It's critical to the success of our paid leave polic

Quote by Lena Furci, Executive Director of HER Academy: "We were adequately prepared to support our employees when the pandemic hit because we already had paid leave policies in effect. Our employees knew they were already supported and that we woul

Quote by Brittany LaValley, Company Care Manager of Mamava: "Working women, especially mothers, need strong paid leave policies and support from their employer, so they can take the time off they need without worrying about financial constraints."

Quote by Mike Draper, Owner of RAYGUN LLC: “Keeping employees safe, especially in the age of the Coronavirus, shouldn't fall on individual companies or employers. We need a federal policy that supports businesses, while ensuring all people have acce

Quote by Kara Lawrence, Manager of Marketing and Communications at Stay In The Game: "With women leaving the workforce at alarming rates as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress needs to step in to support them."

Quote from Thumbtack: "We believe paid leave is vital to supporting our employees. Our existing paid leave policies helped us more easily adapt to the pandemic. Our employees knew that if they needed to take time off due to COVID-19, they had it ava

Quote by Jen Saxton, Founder & CEO of Tot Squad: "As a mother and startup founder, I know first-hand how difficult it is to balance the needs of my business and family. Access to paid family and medical leave is a critical lever towards achievin

Quote by Sara Mauskopf, CEO of Winnie: "One of our main goals at Winnie has been to build a family-friendly company that is a great place for parents to work. During the pandemic, the flexibility we have afforded the team has been key to both our co

Quote by Bob Szuter, Co-owner of Wolf's Ridge Brewing: "While we already have paid leave policies in place, our revenue is down given the catastrophic effects of COVID-19. We need a federal paid leave policy to support the success of both small busi

DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT:

“PAID LEAVE AND THE PANDEMIC: Effective Workplace Policies and Practices For a Time of Crisis and Beyond”

3 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR BUSINESS LEADERS

Implement Strong Gender-Informed Paid Leave Company Policies

Employees, investors and C-suite executives can be leaders in implementing paid leave policy at their workplace. Click the button below to get additional resources and one-on-one support in creating a new or expanded paid leave policy at your company.

Create a Workplace Culture Where Paid Leave Can Thrive

Implementing a strong company policy that allows for paid medical, caregiving, and parental leave alone is not enough to ensure a successful paid leave program. Additionally, companies must actively create a culture that acknowledges the importance of paid leave and caregiving and encourages employees to use their benefits.

Click the button below to view a report for employers, which includes resources on designing and implementing workplace policies that encourage more fathers to use all the leave they are entitled to, for the benefit of themselves, their families, their workplaces, and society as a whole.

Join a Growing Chorus of Businesses Supporting Federal Paid Family and Medical Leave Policy in the US

The growing momentum from the business community in support of public policy on paid leave is turning to action, as paid leave provisions included in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) expired at the end of 2020.

PL+US is mobilizing the business community to help win federal public policy for paid family and medical leave for everyone in the United States - join the effort today!

PRESS INQUIRIES

For media requests, please email press@paidleave.us or click the button below and a member of our team will be in touch.

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PL+US (Paid Leave for the United States) is the national campaign to win paid family and medical leave for every working person in the US. PL+US has helped win paid family leave for nearly 8 million people through our transformative workplace campaigns at companies like Walmart, Starbucks, CVS and more in partnership with employees, employers, consumers, and investors. Learn more at: http://paidleave.us/.

Founded in Brazil in 1997, Promundo works to promote gender equality and create a world free from violence by engaging men and boys in partnership with women, girls, and individuals of all gender identities. Promundo is a global consortium with members in the United States, Brazil, Portugal, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Chile that collaborate to achieve this mission by conducting cutting-edge research that builds the knowledge base on masculinities and gender equality; developing, evaluating, and scaling up high-impact interventions and programs; and carrying out national and international campaigns and advocacy initiatives to prevent violence and promote gender equality. For more information, see: www.promundoglobal.org.

The Parental Leave Corporate Task Force, established in June 2019, champions access to parental leave for dads everywhere. Formed of leading business and civil society organisations, it aims to accelerate solutions that improve access to and uptake of parental leave for dads – ultimately contributing to gender equality and aiding economic growth and development. To find out more, please visit: www.leavefordads.com.