Etsy is the latest company to go big with its parental leave policy, announcing that any employee who becomes a parent will be able to take up to 26 paid weeks off from work.
It doesn’t matter if the parent is a new mom or dad, or if the baby was adopted. At least two months of that time have to be taken in one chunk in the first two months after the baby arrives — but the rest can be spread out over a period of two years.
“Building a company is a team effort that includes the immense support we get from our families,” Etsy chief executive Chad Dickerson said in a post on the company’s blog. “I’m excited that our new leave policy will strengthen families and, as a result, the company as a whole.”
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Etsy’s the latest in a string of tech companiesto roll out family-friendly leave policies, benefits that can help them attract top talent. Overall, the United States is alone among developed countries in that it doesn't guarantee paid maternity leave on a national level, according to the International Labour Organization.
Amazon announced last November that it would be bumping its paid maternity leave up to 20 weeks, and Netflix allows new parents of either gender to take as much time off as they want for the first year after the birth or adoption of a new baby.
