Parental Leave
Challenge
To offer comprehensive and competitive benefit plans that support balance during important life stages.
Actions
Effective January 1, 2017, CIT doubled the time allotment for paid parental leave from four to eight weeks, and eliminated the year of service requirement.
This leave policy is applicable for all birth, adoptions, and foster care events, and is gender-neutral inclusive of birth mothers, non-birth mothers, fathers, adoptive parents, and foster parents.
Additionally, this non-disability parental leave is a standalone policy, which does not require the employee to use vacation, personal, or sick days prior to activating the leave.
If both new parents are CIT employees, both will be eligible for the eight-week paid parental leave, which must be exhausted within one year of the child’s birth or placement for adoption or foster care.
Outcomes
This policy contributed to a positive and supportive culture for a diverse workforce. Since the expansion of the policy in 2017, the average leave time increased by 76 percent. Moreover, 45 percent of program participants were male.
Based on benchmarking data provided by Mercer, only 35 percent of responding companies offer parental leave for both birth and non-birth parents.
Contact
Craig Jackson
Quote
Creating a safe and inclusive culture starts at the top, and I’m proud to take the pledge to continue our collective work in advancing diversity and inclusion. Understanding differences and embracing perspectives different from our own is critical to creating a healthy workplace, agile business and thriving community. We must continue to push forward on all fronts.