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Extraordinary Benefits That are Keeping Women in the

Workforce
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Stephanie Bevegni April 8, 2015

While some working women may be “leaning in,” more are actually tapping out.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of women at work has been
steadily declining, hitting an all-time low of 56.7% this past September. Coincidentally,
the Pew Research Center saw that stay-at-home moms rose to 29% in 2012, up from
a modern-era low of 23% in 1999.

Some of the biggest reasons women are quitting their careers?

Short maternity leaves, costly childcare expenses, and inflexible work schedules to
accommodate work and family balance. With averages of only 12 weeks of maternity
leave and ~$179 per week for infant daycare (even up to $450 per week in the San
Francisco/Bay Area), both working moms and stay-at-home moms will agree that the
struggle is real.

Companies are introducing employee benefits targeted at female

talent

Organizations that are on the forefront of increasing diversity, specifically the number
of women in the workplace, are now focusing on offering exceptional family-friendly
benefits. While some of these programs and perks may seem unusual, they’re
helping female leaders balance the demands of work and a family.
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Silicon Valley is focusing on helping build families

Some of the most striking employee benefits coming out of the Bay Area tech bubble
are infertility treatment coverage, in addition to surrogacy and adoption benefits.
Google, Facebook, and we here at LinkedIn, have all started offering these benefits to
employees. LinkedIn also allows new moms to return to work part-time for up to 4-
weeks after their maternity leave ends, to help them ease back into work and get
comfortable with their new childcare arrangement. We asked our Sr. Director of
Global Benefits for her thoughts on why they’ve implemented these programs:

“We recognize that families are formed in many different ways, so our programs help
employees navigate the world of parenting and beyond,” says Nina McQueen.

“From surrogacy assistance to paid family care leave, support for parents of children
with special needs to back-up elder care, we want to help into make our employee's
lives a little easier even better.”

While these programs may be far from traditional, they retain mid-career women,
while also attracting the growing millennial talent for the future.

Europe leads the way in women employment rates by offering

generous maternity leave

And these unique benefits aren’t just happening in Silicon Valley. According to The
New York Times, Europe has one of the top women employment rates, with
companies offering subsidized childcare and generous maternal leave policies.

UK-based Vodafone just announced that they’re offering women employees at least
16 weeks of paid maternity leave, with an option to work part-time at 30 hours a week
yet still earn their full-time salaries. Sharon Doherty, Global Organisation & People
Development Director at Vodafone, crafted these new policies to address the
staggering attrition of women after maternity leave.

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Law firms strive to empower women to take leadership roles

Only 4% of the top U.S. law firms have female, firm-wide managing partners and
companies are working to change that.

For example, Morrison & Foerster (aka MoFo) provides their women lawyers the
stepping-stones to leadership paths, in addition to their flexible work options and
family-friendly benefit programs. MoFo’s Women's Strategy Committee works closely
with firm leadership to ensure that women’s advancement is a strategic priority, while
the MoFo Summit for Women In-House Counsel gives the firm’s senior women
lawyers an opportunity to spend time with clients to better understand their legal
needs.

MoFo also has 13 affinity groups addressing the needs of women lawyers and
working parents. “The value of providing lawyers with social and networking
opportunities, as well as programming that speaks to their professional interests,
should not be underestimated,” explains Anand David, MoFo’s Global Director of
Attorney Recruiting. “It’s amazing to see the talent we recruit develop such powerful
relationships with one another.” As a result, women now represent 25% of MoFo’s
practice group chairs, and 47% of their US partners on the board of directors.

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Heathcare organizations are investing in children's education

According to FORTUNE’s list of 10 best companies for women, 7 of the 10 are

healthcare systems and/or organizations.

Keeping in line with that, Meridian Health provides affordable onsite childcare and
Children's Healthcare of Atlanta offers its employees $10,000 in adoption benefits.

But there are even organizations that are going beyond young family needs. The
Mayo Clinic and National Vision both offer their employee’s children education
scholarship opportunities, ranging from $2,500 to $10,000 for high school or
undergraduate institutions. They demonstrate a vested interest not only in the
employee, but also in their family’s success.

These are just some of the jaw-dropping benefits seen in human resources and
talent. What others perks and programs do you find compelling? Tweet us at
@HireOnLinkedIn.

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newsletter.

Topics
Employee Retention, Diversity

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