Forward-thinking private employers in the U.S. have engaged in a sort of parental leave arms race over the last few years. It started with tech and professional services firms attempting to lure top talent with gold-plated perks such as a year’s worth of maternity and paternity leave, breast milk shipment programs, and flying nannies. And while those policies are commendable for easing new moms back into the workforce, most went to already well-off salaried workers, furthering the phenomenon in which access to such benefits falls starkly along income lines. Netflix famously introduced a lavish leave policy that initially applied to its salaried Internet video service employees and not to hourly workers in its DVD distribution unit.
But recently, companies—particularly those with large hourly workforces—have started to erase the system of parental leave haves and have-nots. In January, Hilton introduced a new paid leave policy that applies to its hourly staff. In early October, yogurt company Chobani said it would offer a new paid family leave program to its 2,000 workers, including those on the factory floor. And yesterday, Ikea rolled out a new program that treats salaried and hourly employees identically.
These companies recognize that access to paid time off following the birth of a child—to physically recover from medical procedures, to adjust to caring for a new human life, and to bond with a baby—should not depend on a worker’s employment status or income level. Now if only the U.S. Congress would reach the same realization.