

Yahoo Expands Maternity, Paternity Leave - cwb71
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/tech/NATL-After-Work-From-Home-Ban-Yahoo-Expands-Maternity-Leave-205377421.html

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HorizonXP
To be honest, this is exactly why I do not plan on starting a family in the
Bay Area, and instead, will return back to Toronto.

[http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/es/pubs/guide/pregnancy....](http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/es/pubs/guide/pregnancy.php)
[http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/ei/types/maternity_parent...](http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/ei/types/maternity_parental.shtml#eligible)

Basically, in Ontario, mothers are eligible for 17 weeks of pregnancy leave.
After giving birth, both parents are eligible for up to 37 weeks of parental
leave.

This time is unpaid, but has no impact on your benefits, length of employment,
seniority, etc. Many companies do pay for this time off, especially since the
government employment insurance program will help if your weekly income drops
below 40%.

The money helps significantly, but for me, it's more about the time. These are
important and formative weeks during your child and family's development. A
couple of my friends just had a baby, and I can see how much they cherish
every moment they spend with him.

I won't be worrying about these kinds of benefits for a few more years, but
it's still something that I view as important.

~~~
mindjiver
Here in Sweden you get 16 months to split between the parents. It amazes me
how crappy the benefits are in even the most "progressive" Bay Area companies,
like Facebook trying to recruit with "25 vacation days", makes me laugh.

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criley
We can crap on the Bay Area all day long, but then the question becomes: why
isn't Silicon Valley in Sweden?

~~~
mindjiver
Man, I can list so many reasons, starting with a very risk averse society,
then continuing with very bad economic policies during the period after WWII
up until our big finical crisis in the 1990. Please note that I have some
libertarian tendencies so my views are perhaps coloured by that.

But that was not my point. My point was how low the barrier for "great
benefits" where even for "spoiled" software engineers in Silicon Valley. Why
not try to move the goal post a bit further?

~~~
craigyk
I agree, US companies should have better policies, but that would rely on the
government enforcing an even playing field (not very libertarian). Otherwise
there is no way any single company can stray too far from the pack without
seriously damaging their competitiveness.

Maybe something like the government covering 70% of the your away pay (capped,
obviously), and giving the company 15% to go toward to whatever they chose
(covering you more, hiring a temp, the bottom line, etc.) The size of the
company could also be a factor on how large that payment is (the smaller the
company, the larger the percentage).

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throwaway1979
Kudos to Yahoo!! It is shocking how little maternity leave is provided by the
average company. I have a friend who got 8 weeks, took 8 more without pay ...
she was so pissed off that she used part of the leave time to find another
job. The company lost a top notch worker for being so stingy with maternity
leave!

~~~
Samuel_Michon
Let’s not forget that 16 weeks is still way below what employers in other
countries are obligated to offer, on average. Have a look at this graph,
linked to by the article: [http://childrenschances.org/global-maps/parents-
and-children...](http://childrenschances.org/global-maps/parents-and-
children/is-paid-leave-available-for-mothers-of-infants/)

Paid leave from work for mothers of infants: Canada 50 weeks, Mexico 12 weeks,
USA zero.

Paid leave from work for fathers of infants: Canada 35 weeks, Cuba 40 weeks,
USA zero.

In Eastern European countries like Belarus, Ukraine, and Slovakia, mothers get
3 years paid leave – that’s 10 times more than what Yahoo is offering.

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john_b
Is anyone aware of how the courts have interpreted things like this (if at
all)?

> _"Under the new policy, mothers can take 16 weeks of paid leave with
> benefits, and fathers can take up to eight weeks"_

Would that not be considered discriminatory?

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bluthru
The problem is that different paternity/maternity times makes employers view
women as more hazardous. This also reinforces the sexist notion that fathers
aren't as integral to early childhood development. I'm sure a new mother would
love the extra help for another 8 weeks!

Also, lets say that you're a child adopted by a homosexual married couple and
you only get 8 weeks. How is that fair to the adopted child versus 16 weeks
for a birthed child?

Equality means treating people equally--including men and children.

~~~
jerf
The point at which your politics leads you to claim that sex (in this case we
rather _aren't_ talking gender, but actual sex) experiences in childbirth
should be treated precisely equally is the point at which you need to sit down
with your politics and have a long, heartfelt discussion vis a vis your
politics' connection to reality.

Some recognition of the differences in experience and particularly in
consequences are called for, I think. Because they exist.

~~~
nostromo
bluthru's more important point is that by offering different amounts of time
off for men and women you're disincentivizing managers from hiring women.

The simplest way of removing this "hidden tax" on hiring women is to make the
tax the same for men.

A proper policy would give equal maternal/paternal time off for both parents
for either birth or adoption, and also have some sort of paid medical leave
program in place for complicated pregnancies (and of course, all other medical
problems).

~~~
davidw
> have some sort of paid medical leave program in place for complicated
> pregnancies

Anecdotally, _lots_ of women in Italy have "difficult pregnancies" because the
incentives are there for it. They're happy to have extra time off, and
doctors, when in doubt, are not going to choose the riskier option.

~~~
gertef
In the US, similar: it is standard for doctors to prescribe 6 weeks of rest,
for use with employers and insurance companies that are moved by such a thing.

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jroseattle
It's really hard for me to see this as something other than reactionary to all
the criticism after the WFH policy fiasco. I think it's great for those who
are expecting, but this feels like trying to save face.

After one year, I expected more in terms of results from Yahoo under Mayer's
tenure. I'm not as close to it, but I just didn't see benefit and work
policies as the difference between success and failure in the marketplace for
Yahoo.

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general_failure
Sweet.

Now can we see some news about tech innovations by yahoo?

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NDizzle
This is a pretty fair deal. As the sole income for a family of 5 in the bay
area, these kind of perks are good. Well, not that it matters for me anymore.
No more kids for us!!!

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shaydoc
8 weeks for fathers is very good.

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zinssmeister
One has nothing to do with the other.

~~~
sp332
They are more related than you think . When WFH was banned, one of the groups
that got the most attention was mothers who complained that they were no
longer able to work and take care of their kids at the same time, but Meyer
built a nursery for her own kid on-site.

