Vadym Buinov Moment | fake images
Working parents, guardians or caregivers know the challenge of striking the delicate balance between work and caring responsibilities.
From paid parental leave to quality health care coverage and equal pay that covers child care costs, it has become a priority for workers to find an employer that recognizes that parents have specific needs.
Without federal oversight of workplace benefits, such as paid leave and caregiving policies, corporate leaders are being asked to take the lead.
CNBC partner Just Capital examined policy disclosures from America's largest companies to find the best in the country to meet these needs.
“Americans are very clear about what they believe companies should prioritize: their workers,” said Alison Omens, president of Just Capital.
The best companies for parents
Goldman Sachs, American Express, outdoor terraces, S&P Global and Splunk will be the top parenting companies in 2024, according to Just Capital research.
All five companies offer the following benefits: 20 or more weeks of paid parental leave for primary and secondary caregivers; parental leave parity for all caregivers; and back-up subsidized dependent care for its employees.
“What the pandemic uncovered and remains true today is that for working parents, particularly mothers who are disproportionately providing care, a key part is their paid parental leave,” Omens said.
S&P Global offers 26-week paid parental leave policies. Company employees and married couple Lauren and Mario Washington told CNBC that taking parental leave together after welcoming their second daughter in 2021 had a profound impact on their family dynamic and well-being.
“Those initial weeks seem fleeting, but they tangibly improved our family's balance and relationship,” Lauren said. “Mario's involvement helped our oldest daughter adjust from being an only child to an older sister and helped me focus on caring for our newborn and my own recovery.”
The human resources profession, however, has a different opinion on the impact of parental leave on businesses. The largest “direct cost,” according to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), is an employee's salary over the course of the number of weeks they are on leave. SHRM maintains that employers already have salaries included in budgets.
“Indirect costs” are the loss of productivity during an employee's leave, temporary replacement, and the cost of administering a paid leave program.
“Paid parental leave is an expensive proposition,” said Yvette Lee, human resources consultant at SHRM. “But rotating key talent can be even more costly.”
Lee said investing in paid parental leave and similar policies may make sense in the long term.
Many companies have introduced measures to ensure fairness in the workplace for all employees.
Deckers Outdoor is targeting gender parity in leadership positions by 2030, and Goldman Sachs has set a target for hiring women in both entry-level and senior management positions to reach 50% and 40%, respectively.
“We invest in our success as a company by investing in our people,” an S&P Global spokesperson said.
