DowDuPont Inc.’s specialty products division is adopting a comprehensive parental leave policy, which offers four weeks of paid leave for new parents, including adoptive and same-sex parents.
“For birth mothers, the four paid weeks are in addition to an enhanced paid maternity leave which has been extended to 12 weeks,” said the company in a press release. The new policy, which takes effect on June 1 in the U.S. and across all global locations by the end of 2020, applies new global minimum leave benefits.
Parents can opt to take their four weeks of paid leave in one shot or spread it out over the first year. The policy applies for each new child born.
Read: BAT Group rolls out new parental benefits for 55,000 global staff
“We are proud of our employees and when they become a new parent, we are excited to help them thrive at work and at home,” said Marc Doyle, chief executive officer-elect for DuPont and chief operating officer of DowDuPont’s specialty products division. “This policy demonstrates we care about our employees’ well-being, empowering them with the flexibility to make it easier to choose both family and career . . . it will enhance our ability to attract and retain top talent.”
Another U.S. company, restaurant chain Sweetgreen, is also providing new parents — whether birth mothers, fathers, adoptive parents, foster parents or others — with five months of fully paid parental leave.
“This move is rare for our industry and we hope this creates a conversation for other companies to join,” noted a statement from the company.