2 ms·

> Etsy defends the right to maternal leave Actually it's gender neutral. So I hope a lot of dads at Etsy also take the opportunity (as it's fully paid you'd be

• alexandrerond 11y ago
  Sorry, this was a typo (unconscious bias? who knows). I meant parental leave of course. I should add that parental leave can only work when it is mandatory, for both parents. American companies do this a lot: you have the option to take unlimited vacation, the option to take parental leave... but peer pressure, social pressure push people not to take them (at least to the full extent they are entitled), as it is seen as letting the team down, or letting the company down, or not being compromised enough etc. In the case of parental leave, society pushes mothers to take it, rather than fathers. Therefore, mandatory equal leave for both parents is the only way to make a difference... Unfortunately not even Europe is there yet (or most countries in it).
  • amag 11y ago
    While I do agree that there could be a lot of peer pressure etc to not take parental leave, there are some interesting things with their policy which makes me think it's great: 1. That it's fully paid alleviates the money discussion (between parents). 2. That it's a company policy means Etsy's management has fully embraced it (I assume). When government mandated, a manager can always mutter and mumble about it enough to give the parent feelings of guilt or at least uneasiness. 3. That it's not unlimited would at least make me more comfortable to take the whole 26 weeks. They had five weeks before, they could have chosen 10 or 18 weeks, nobody was really wringing their arm to decide on 26 weeks.