How Does Your Company Support Working Parents?

As a champion of women, I have seen how difficult it often is for working parents—and women in particular—to juggle their many roles. I’ve often wondered how my own mother and father juggled it all—both studied for advanced degrees, worked, and ensured my sister and I got to every afterschool activity we wanted to pursue. Recently, the COVID pandemic laid bare just how difficult issues of childcare and family life are for countless employees. When schools shuttered across the United States and the globe, parents had to scramble.

According to Pew Research, in March of 2020, about 38 percent of working parents said the childcare and parenting juggling act was difficult. By October of 2020 during the pandemic that number rose to 52 percent. Among teleworkers, mothers are twice as likely as fathers to say they have responsibility for “a lot” of childcare duties while they are working.

At a previous company where I worked, I took on the issue of antiquated and inadequate maternity leave. Recent SHRM research shows that while the percentage has risen, still only about 55 percent of companies offer paid maternity leave. Forty-five percent offer paid paternity leave.

The fact is, you cannot attract and retain top talent without supporting working parents and families. Over 90 percent of families have at least one parent in the workforce. So it’s time—it’s past time—to ensure we support working parents. I want my teams to be the best. The best in sales, the best in innovation, the best at everything we try. And I will never accomplish that without also trying to ensure those working parents on my team feel valued.

Here are some ways today’s companies and leaders can support those employees with children and family obligations:

• Paid parental leave and maternity/paternity leave. No person who brings a new baby into their family through birth or adoption should feel like they must rush back to work.
• In December of 2022, President Biden signed what is known as the “PUMP Act.” This Fair Labor Standards Act guarantees more women the right to breaks and a private space to pump breast milk in a baby’s first year—and the space cannot be a germ-filled bathroom, either!
• Fertility benefits and adoption benefits. Companies can show their support for parents and people trying to become parents by offering fertility and adoption benefits.
• Childcare benefits. Private companies offering paid childcare benefits or “backup” care benefits are as varied as AFLAC, USAA, Amazon, and Major League Baseball.
• Flexibility. As a leader, I did not wait for flexibility to somehow be “legislated” by my company. I have always offered flexibility—I want the work to be done. But the precise hours or place it needs to be done does not have to be rigid. Flexibility shows respect—I don’t need to babysit the people on my team. Because if I did? I haven’t hired the right team members.

I have pursued leadership and excellence my entire career. As a child, I watched and admired my own father as a manager, then as I made my way through my career on up to the C-Suite, I observed my mentors and outstanding visionaries. I knew what kind of leader I wanted to be when the time came. I value every person on my team—and it is part of my commitment to them that I will stand up for the working moms and dads who are essential to every company.