Inspired By Tech Giants, The Navy Just Tripled Paid Maternity Leave
Netflix and Microsoft weren't the only employers this week to enact major changes on paid maternity leave. But the Navy, and the military as a whole, still lags behind when it comes to dads
By Shane Dixon Kavanaugh on Aug 06, 2015 at 18:09 PM
U.S. Navy
As more American tech companies grab headlines for providing generous paid time off benefits to new parents, the Navy is making some waves of its own below the radar.
Beginning Wednesday, female sailors became eligible to take up to 18 weeks of paid maternity leave after giving birth, tripling the six weeks previously given to women in the Navy and Marine Corps. The change took effect the same day that Microsoft announced it plans to boost its parental leave to 20 weeks for mothers and 12 weeks for fathers, and just one day after Netlfix said that it will provide paid maternity and paternity leave for up to one year to employees.
“Meaningful maternity leave when it matters most is one of the best ways that we can support the women who serve our county,” said Navy Secretary Ray Mabus last month. The Navy Times reported the 18-week leave was inspired, in part, by Google, which bumped its maternity leave up to that allotment of time in 2007.
The Navy’s move to extend leave is part of a broader effort to attract and retain more women among its ranks. By comparison, the Army and Air Force still only allow six weeks of maternity leave. Mabus, who as secretary of the Navy has control over parental leave policy, enacted the changes.
The shift will benefit thousands of families. More than 71,000 women actively serve in the Navy and Marine Corps and about 5,000 go on maternity leave each year, according to Navy statistics. Microsoft and Google each employe fewer women, about 34,000 and 17,000, respectively, according to the companies. Nextlix employs roughly 2,000 people, but declined to provide Vocativ a breakdown by gender.
Despite its change, the Navy—as well as Army and Air force,—still lags behind its corporate counterparts on paternity leave. Each branch of the military provides only up to 10 days of paid leave for fathers, and only if they’re married when the child is born. Even as some celebrated the paid leave victory for women in the Navy, dozens flooded social media to draw draw attention to that fact.
“18 weeks is great, but fathers need a better paternity leave,” wrote Sarah June Martins on a Navy Times Facebook thread. “Netflix is now allowing men and women employees to take up to a year off after their child’s birth with full pay and benefits. Not saying sailors need a year but that fathers need to be included too.”
http://www.vocativ.com/news/219071/inspired-by-tech-giants-the-navy-just-tripled-its-paid-maternity-leave/
