5 Companies With The Best Maternity Leave Policies In 2023

Maternity, paternity, and parental leave are all used to describe employee benefit policies around caring for yourself and small children. Maternity policies apply to the birthing mama, while paternity leave policies apply to the parent who did not give birth. Parental leave policies can generally apply to either parent and don’t always have to involve one of the parents giving childbirth, for example, in situations of adoption or surrogacy. 

The National Partnership for Women and Families is a nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy group that works to promote women’s equality and access to quality, affordable reproductive health support in the workplace. They released a comprehensive report in August 2021 highlighting 70 innovative companies with inclusive, gender-equal family leave policies. Care.com also has a great list here with a quick breakdown of major US and global companies that offer both maternity and paternity support. 

In 2022, job posting site ZipRecruiter found that 849 out of 100,000 job postings offered paid parental leave, up from 95 out of 100,000 in 2017. But which ones are offering the best of the best when it comes to maternity leave?

We’re calling out 5 companies below and highlighting how they’re changing the maternity leave game.

Why maternity leave is so important 

Before we get into it, we want to share just why paid maternity leave is so important. 

There are plenty of benefits to paid maternity leave and studies show it has been linked to improved mood in women and lower rates of postpartum depression, stress, and anxiety.

Plus, babies also get benefits from maternity leave too! The same study shows that paid maternity leave has been connected to improved bonding child development, which influences the development of attachment, empathy, and subsequent academic success in the child. Another study showed that longer paid maternity leave increases the length of time mama breastfeeds – if mama is able and choosing to feed this way. When done for longer periods, breastfeeding can benefit baby’s digestive and immune systems, and reduce the risk of illness for the mama, including breast and ovarian cancer and diabetes. 

Find out more about Maternity Leave: Why You Need It, Your Rights & How To Make The Transition Easier. 

What about paternity leave?

According to the Boston College Center for Work and Family, in 2011, fewer than 5 percent of new fathers took more than two weeks of paternity leave in 2011. In 2023, 90% of men take more than seven weeks of leave if they are offered eight weeks.

5 companies with the best maternity leave policies in 2023

Offering compassionate support for all motherhood journeys: Pinterest

We’re bumping Pinterest higher up on our list than other websites because their policy has some key aspects that we think go above and beyond to offer more compassionate comprehensive support to women on their motherhood journies in addition to paid time off. 

Here’s what Pinterest is offering when it comes to maternity & paternity leave: 

• More than 20+ weeks of parental leave. All parents around the world are offered at least 20 weeks of paid parental leave, and birthing parents in the US receive 26 weeks of parental leave which is upped from the previous 16 weeks!

• Paid leave and financial support for adoption. Parents who are expanding their families through adoption not only receive monetary assistance of $10,000, but also get 20 weeks of paid parental leave to spend time with their families.

• Additional support for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Parents who have a baby in the NICU also can take up to 12 weeks of paid time off as family care leave for additional support.

• Support after pregnancy loss. Additionally, they offer 4 weeks of paid leave for women experiencing a loss through miscarriage at any time during pregnancy (something we love to see more employers specifically offering support for). 

• 2 IVF cycles & egg freezing are available for all employees

Offering a LOT of time off for maternity & paternity leave: Netflix

Although it’s not stated on their website, many outlets report that Netflix may offer up to 52 paid weeks – yes, a full year! – of maternal and paternity leave (one of the highest out of all major tech companies). 

Their parental leave policy is described on their website as, "take care of your baby and yourself”. They do state that new parents generally take around 4 - 8 months of parental leave from work, so just a note that not everyone is likely taking all of their 52 weeks.

Netflix also offers support for fertility, surrogacy, and adoption (including travel services) through Carrot which benefits both employees and their spouse/domestic partner, regardless of their marital status, gender, or sexual orientation (we love to see the inclusion!).

Offering support for a smooth transition back-to-work after maternity leave: Hewlett-Packard Enterprise

This well-known IT company also offers 26 weeks of paid parental leave with additional noteworthy benefits, helping ease the stress of transitioning back into work after parental leave.

Their parental transition support program allows parents to work part-time for up to 3 years after birth and they also claim to offer breastfeeding support program as well as a milk-shipping service for working mamas. 

Offering monetary support for adoption and surrogacy: Snap, inc. aka Snapchat

At Snapchat, birthing parents receive 26 weeks of paid parental leave while non-birthing parents have access to 16 weeks of paid leave. They also claim to reimburse parents up to $40,000 to help cover adoption expenses and $80,000 to help cover surrogacy expenses! 

Offering inclusive support for all parents globally: Etsy

Etsy offers their employees a value-based approach to maternity leave and offers 26 weeks of fully paid parental leave to employees having children through either birth or adoption, regardless of gender, where you live, or your current marital circumstance. 

You have the ability to spread this out over the two years following the birth or adoption of their child. Studies have shown the time after birth to be critical for mama’s health and recovery, and it’s because of this that they require 8 of these weeks to be taken consecutively within the first 6 months after birth while the rest can be scheduled within the 2 year time period. 

You can read more about what motivated the company to make this impactful change in their article here. 

What do you look for when it comes to parental leave & maternity rights? Let us know in the comments.

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