If maternity leave policies are a major reason for retention, what are the figures for other industries? It's not like only women in tech want to have kids and are impacted by maternity leave policies.
What was the base of this drop? Do the vast majority on moms at google stay or leave? If 99.9% of moms before the change stayed then a 50% change in the 0.1% who left is not too informative, but if 80% previously left then it is very significant.
I'm sorry, but paying someone to take off for more than 1/3 of the year? Is this based on how long they are with the company before said leave? 4.5 months of maternity leave is very generous, and honestly enough for a physical recovery and to spend time with the baby. I'd even be in favor of 4-8 weeks maternity leave for new dads.
I'm all for maternity leave, I think it's important, and there are too many companies that don't offer any, or enough. That said, there's a point where you really aren't an employee anymore. I'm not saying they should shorten their leave, but making it longer probably isn't a great idea.
Here in Canada, maternity leave is a Federally-mandated full year. Before having a baby I thought that seemed excessive, but after having one, I see the value it brings at a critical time in a child's life.
Now the idea that the US only allows for 2 weeks seems cruel and unusual.
I agree that two weeks is insane... and I understand why many would leave a job to stay at home for the first few years of a baby's life. I'm not sure I entirely understand having paid leave for that long though.
It would be easier to handle if the U.S. adopted a basic wage, and eliminated most of the welfare and subsidy programs.
Well, the Canadian method involves the parent going on Unemployment for the duration of the leave, so it's not 100% salary. Still, a better option than a child missing out on key parental bonding time.
Raising it from 12 to 18 clearly had a very positive effect. I'd wager that there is more to be had by raising it further. So this is a cold hard HR calculation - not something I suggest they do out of altruism. Although that would be OK too.
Just for perspective, where I live 52 weeks is mandated by law. Now, a private company doesn't have to offer full payment during that period (or any), but it's quite common to do. Personally, I have a hard time imagining passing my child on to day care at the age of 4 months. So that means at least one of the parents needs to stay out of work. For various reasons, that usually ends up being the mother.
I'm from Sweden where parental leave (at 80% of pay) is 14 weeks for the mother, 2 weeks for her partner, and then an additional 65 weeks that can be distributed between the partners as they wish. 4 months seems short - I wouldn't want to have to leave my 4 month old baby with child care.