March 31st, 2016

New York

Launch of Pledge Parental Leave

(Illustration credit: Kim Weiner)

Did you know that the United States is the only industrialized country in the world to not have government mandated policies on parental leave? And given that the creative industry here tends to fall horrendously behind when it comes to work/life balance benefits, the lack of parental leave surely sticks out like a sore thumb.

On March 22nd, a massive parental leave initiative was kicked-off, designed to inspire real change to a current lack of government regulations. And we are excited to tell you that SheSays is a proud supporting partner in this movement.

So far, this initiative has brought together 11 of the biggest, most high-profile digital studios and agencies in New York City, all of whom have pledged to offer their employees a minimum of 3 months paid leave, 3 months of uninterrupted health insurance, 6 months guaranteed position held open, and most importantly, a commitment to publishing their benefits publicly online.

The aim is to light a desperately needed fire, gain more momentum, bring onboard more partners, and expand beyond NYC. Here are the details:

  • There’s currently no government mandated parental leave policies in the United States, so it’s up to the private sector to step up.

  • In light of this, ustwo has initiated what is being called Pledge Parental Leave: A campaign and movement that sets the standard for the minimum parental leave benefits that companies in the creative industry (and beyond) should be offering their team.

  • The premise is simple: There are four parental leave benefit specifications that each potential partner must achieve to in order to join.

  • By adhering to these four criteria, each Pledge Partner has announced (and proved) to the world that they truly do are care about the wellbeing of their employees and their families, in addition to setting themselves apart from their competition in an increasingly competitive industry.

There is a launch party tonight 31st March starting at 6:30pm at ustwo NY. Anyone who is interested is welcome to attend, more details and to RSVP can be found here.

In the meantime, help to spread the word and get the movement going.

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