Netflix takes the cake with his or her maternity leave. This maternity leave applies to both women and men. In the first year after the birth they can take as much paid leave as they want. Working one after the other, or working intermittently anyway, it's their own choice.
Sounds fantastic or not? In-Silicon Valley maternity leave is clearly different from ours. This competitive environment is doing its best to retain their workforce and maternity leave seems to be a tool in that battle. For example, Apple gives expectant mothers four weeks before their due date and 14 weeks of maternity leave afterward, while fathers get six weeks. Google gives 18 weeks in total and Facebook gives fathers and mothers four months. The maternity leave for men in particular is much better here than it is arranged in the Netherlands. Or well, better? Opinions are still divided on that.
Incidentally, it is also said that this sounds nice, but that it is rarely used in practice. Why not? Because in many of these types of companies there is a culture where the employee does not dare to take maternity leave.
I would have liked it if my hubby had been more present after the delivery, but that has more to do with a premature birth (7 weeks early) for the first and a caesarean section for the second. Both situations that need some extra attention in the first weeks after delivery. The last time I brought up the question on Facebook, opinions were divided. Still, there are several people who are committed to extra maternity leave for the dad. Parents of Nu even drew up a petition that could be signed. Incidentally, the desired 40,000 signatures have been achieved in that petition and it will be presented to the Minister of Social Affairs, Lodewijk Asscher.
Now we are of course curious how our readers feel about this. Will you let us know how you experienced the maternity leave of yourself and your partner? You can do that in a comment below or via our Facebook post.
