“Mark and Priscilla, I’m so excited for both of you”.
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Zuckerberg’s announcement to take a 2-month paternity leave seems like an endorsement of the leave policy by the Facebook CEO.
Zuckerberg and his wife Dr. Priscilla Chan have not shared an exact due date for the Zuckerbaby, but he did say “every day things are getting a little more real” in a post shared on Facebook.
“Studies show that when working parents take time to be with their newborns, outcomes are better for the children and families”, he added. “Enjoy the precious early months with your daughter – I can’t wait to meet her”, said Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg in a comment on the post.
Zuckerberg also revealed that he and his wife have been trying for a few years to have a baby, and that they had suffered three miscarriages.
A 2015 study by the Society for Human Resource Management found that 21 percent of employers it surveyed offered paid maternity leave, and 17 percent provided paid paternity leave. The company also provides its female employee, the facility of freezing their eggs.
Though paid maternity leave is common outside the US, paid time off for new fathers isn’t always offered.
Under the federal “Family and Medical Leave Act” (1993), new parents who are employed at businesses with more than 50 employees are entitled to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave. Goldman Sachs doubled its paid paternity leave to four weeks this summer, and Johnson & Johnson now gives new dads eight weeks of paid leave.
The move could force other large technology companies to follow suit and adopt similar policies. 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.
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While more organizations are now offering paid parental leave, it’s definitely not a given and even those who do have the benefit often underuse it for fear of being criticized.
