Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer sparks new conversation around paid parental leave

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer announced Aug. 31 that she and her husband Zachary Bogue are expecting twin girls in December.

However, in her Tumblr post, Ms. Mayer wrote that she "plan[s] to approach the pregnancy and delivery as [she] did with [her] son three years ago, taking limited time away and working throughout."

Here are five things to know about parental leave and its impact on major companies and their employees.

1. The U.S. doesn't mandate paid maternity leave. The United States is the only advanced economy that doesn't enforce paid maternity leave, according to NPR. Other developed countries across the world — including Germany, South Korea, Italy and the United Kingdom — offer anywhere from five to 35 weeks of paid maternity leave. In addition, the U.S. is one of nine countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development that don't have leave policies in place for fathers.

2. Several companies have made recent headlines for expanding parental leave. In August, Netflix announced its new unlimited parental leave policy, which "allows [parents] to take off as much time as they want during the first year after a child's birth or adoption." Microsoft also recently expanded its policy, allowing 20 weeks of leave to new birth mothers and 12 weeks of leave to all fathers and adoptive parents. Adobe increased its leave policy to allow 26 weeks of paid leave for birth mothers and 16 weeks for fathers and adoptive parents.

3. Yahoo increased paid parental leave in 2013. Less than one year after giving birth to her son, Ms. Mayer expanded parental leave at Yahoo to eight weeks of paid leave for fathers and up to 16 weeks for new mothers.

4. Ms. Mayer's decision to work through her maternity leave has sparked controversy. Though her decision was met with backlash from some, others have applauded her choice. Chicago Tribune writer Heidi Stevens advocated for Ms. Mayer's decision because there is "no evidence that Mayer discourages her employees from taking their full leave." Mel Robbins, a CNN commentator, agreed. "As far as I'm concerned, the length of your maternity and paternity leave are deeply personal choices," she wrote.

5. Not everyone takes the maximum parental leave. Christy Wyatt, CEO of Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Good Technology, only took 10 days off on maternity leave when she and her husband adopted a baby boy in 2013. Her reasoning behind the decision? Good Technology had filed for an IPO, and the baby was due the same week. But then the IPO was postponed. Ultimately, Ms. Wyatt was able to bring her son — and his nanny — to work. "It was a wonderful way for me to have both at the same time," she said.

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