Netflix made the headlines last week when it announced that going forward, employees can take as much time off as they want in the first year after their child’s birth. Netflix staffers can return part time or full time, and will keep getting paid as usual, doing away with the hurdle of moving onto and off disability pay which employees at other companies generally have to do.
A day after Netflix made the headlines, Microsoft announced an upgrade to its family leave policy: new parents will now be able to take 12 weeks of paid leave and when they are ready to go back to work, they have the option to start on a part-time basis. Other companies like Johnson & Johnson, Accenture and Blackstone have also recently extended the paid leave they offer from four to five months.
It is notable that apart from Oman and Papua New Guinea, the US is alone in providing no statutory paid leave to parents. Even the 12 weeks of unpaid leave guaranteed by federal law applies only to businesses with more than 50 employees leaving two-fifths of the workforce with no such rights. Given the lack of legislation and the apparent lack of political will to change the status quo, it is encouraging that corporate America is leading the way to address the fact that as a condition for keeping their jobs, the majority of women in America have to return to work when their baby is less than three months’ old. If Netflix encourages more companies to review their parental leave policies and entrenched norms start to change, this can only be a good thing for maternal health, infant well-being and the engagement of fathers as active parents.
At The Women’s Foundation, we have long advocated for parents (meaning both mothers and fathers) to be able to choose how much or how little time they take to bear and care for their newborn children and to be better supported in these choices. Hong Kong’s ten weeks of statutory maternity leave lags behind the ILO's prescribed minimum of 14 weeks and our paltry three days of paternity leave for new fathers means that women continue to be straitjacketed as the primary caregivers for children. Meanwhile, meaningful part-time work remains hard to come by in Hong Kong despite efforts by the Hong Kong Government to encourage organisations to offer part-time opportunities.
We would also love to hear from you with your thoughts and examples of best practice when it comes to family friendly policies. Please write to me at su-mei.thompson@twfhk.org.
