A Step Forward in Parental Leave at Etsy

It is great news to see some companies taking small steps towards what is considered normal in the rest of developed world, but it&#x27;s actually very sad that in America it&#x27;s the corporations who are taking the role of defending citizens rights, but only selectively.<p>Etsy defends the right to maternal leave, Apple defends the right to privacy and so on, but at the same time, it is the relation between corporate power and political power that has made the US move forward so little in social rights.<p>Free health, education, maternal leave, striking... This should be rights, not company privileges. Congrats to Etsy employees, and condolences to everyone else.

It&#x27;s really wonderful to see companies looking after their employees like this and taking steps to reduce gender bias, and to improve inclusivity when it comes to benefits.<p>As an individual who is not likely to ever have children however, I would feel rather jealous of my co-workers who got to take advantage of this benefit. Some sort of clause like: &quot;... when they become a parent ... or when they work for the company for five years without becoming a parent.&quot; would help me feel included.<p>I really don&#x27;t mean to diminish this awesome perk, it is obviously much more inclusive than the status-quo and I commend Etsy for implementing it!

This is a great step!<p>As a contrast, in Canada maternity&#x2F;parental leave is baked in to every job. See <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.esdc.gc.ca&#x2F;en&#x2F;reports&#x2F;ei&#x2F;maternity_parental.page#h2.1-h3.1" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.esdc.gc.ca&#x2F;en&#x2F;reports&#x2F;ei&#x2F;maternity_parental.page#...</a> It&#x27;s not perfect (there&#x27;s a cap on how much money it will pay), but it&#x27;s universal. There&#x27;s 35 weeks, and it can be divided between mother and father however the family sees fit.

They&#x27;re giving all parents half a year off, paid, gender blind and circumstance blind.

Congrats to Etsy. Last year at PlanGrid we adopted 12-week paid leave with the same gender-blind policy that applies in the case of adoptions, etc.<p>I wish I had worked here when my little ones were born. My employer at the time (a multi-national software company in the bay area) offered leave in CA but those living elsewhere got nothing besides FMLA (meaning only women and only six paid weeks, along with burning all vacation time). Being the dad I got nothing.

It is great to see parental leave includes men. I quit my last job (and started my own business) because I needed extended parental leave.

Unpopular Opinion but I feel the need to speak up for the millions of adults that either by choice or biology do not, and will not have children<p>A Step forward in Parental Leave, a Step backwards for equality... Equality is treating everyone the same.. Giving one group 26 weeks paid leave for their life choice (having kids) while not giving the same 26 weeks paid leave to their childless employees is unequal treatment...<p>I have never understood why I, a person that has chosen not to have children, should have to work harder, longer, for the same money has people that choose to have children<p>A business hires you do to a job, if your life choices interfere with your ability to do your job you should not be rewarded with time off.