Equal Parental Leave
This toolkit, developed by Business in the Community (BITC) and Bain & Co, is designed to support employers’ journey towards gender equality. The toolkit supports conversations on why equal parental leave is important, highlights its costs and benefits and describes how best to implement a successful equal parental leave policy.
For an understanding of the structure of the toolkit, how it can help you and how you can use it, read the accompanying Equal Parental Leave Executive Summary and Guide.
Why equitable parental leave should be an employer priority
In March 2022, BITC published the Who Cares? report exploring the contemporary experiences of working carers in the UK (44% of the workforce). The report uncovered a discrepancy between the ‘wants and needs’ and reality of those balancing paid work and care, including a disproportionate cost to certain groups, with 60% of women carers and 50% of carers from Black, Asian, Mixed Race or other ethnically diverse backgrounds stating that their caring responsibilities had prevented them from applying for a new job or promotion.
Failing to support working carers is undermining gender equality at work. With childcare being the main responsibility of working carers (72% care for dependent children), offering more equitable parental leave policies should be a priority for employers. Equal parental leave enables all parents to take time out to care when they have children, setting an equal precedent for childcare going forward.
Best practice road map
One of the first steps to equal parental leave is determining your organisation’s current and desired position on parental leave policy, benefits and culture. You can use this workbook as a best practice road map to establish where you sit and where you want to progress.
Equal Parental Leave Calculator
To understand the cost, as well as some of the associated benefits, of moving to an equal parental leave policy specifically for your organisation, you can use our Equal Parental Leave Calculator. This calculator will provide you with the relevant data to build a business case for implementing the policy, as well as inform executive decision-making on the issue.
Complete the short form and the workbook will be delivered to your inbox.
Next steps
For learnings from other organisations who have successfully applied equal parental leave policies, read our case study and blog.
- Case study: Aviva: degendering care
- Case study: Natwest Group – New Partner Leave
- Case study: Diageo Commits Further to Support Gender Equality
- Case study: Ipsos Enhanced and Equal Parental Leave Policy
- Blog: Equal at Work, Equal at Home.
- Case study: Bain & Company: equalising parental leave
ACCESS A WIDE RANGE OF RESOURCES TO MAKE YOUR WORKPLACE MORE INCLUSIVE
