The Working Parent Support Coalition, announced this week at the 11th annual Clinton Global Initiative, brings with it an intriguingly fresh approach to the ongoing fight for better workplace support for working families.
Led by Danone and the Clinton Global Initiative, coalition members--KKR, Nestlé and 2015 Working Mother 100 Best Companies EY and Barclays--have each committed to implementing a range of parental workplace supports, including longer paid parental leave, back-to-work strategies and in-office support.
As leader of the Working Mother 100 Best Companies, I know the importance of employer commitment to work life. For 30 years, our initiative has encouraged companies to compete to serve employees with benefits and policies that truly make a difference. Our application includes more than 500 questions on everything from paid leave and child care to flexibility and women's advancement.
That's why I applaud the holistic view taken by this new coalition as it seeks to support working parents. For as important as paid leave is to new parents, it is only one link in the work life chain. Companies also must consider what happens when an employee returns to work: Do its benefits, policies and culture allow a new mom or dad to thrive both at work and at home?
Too often, the answer to that question is a resounding no. Lack of paid leave, followed by a lack of flexibility, a "mommy track" that thwarts women's advancement, and unsupportive managers are still way too common at work today. Indeed, in our most recent white paper, Moms@Work: The Working Mother Report, finds that a majority of working mothers surveyed who do not consider their manager supportive are considering a job change, while those who do not have flexibility at work are the least optimistic about their career prospects.
To that end, coalition members have each committed to reviewing their existing benefits for working parents -- and then determining how they can do better in specific, measurable and sustainable ways. For certain, that includes extending paid leave, a move that lately has become a welcome headline grabber for many progressive companies. (For an in-depth look at how the Working Mother 100 Best Companies offer paid leave, click here.)
Extending that specific, measurable and sustainable approach beyond paid leave to include to all areas of the work life conversation is exactly what all U.S. employers should consider--and implement. And that's why I say kudos to the founding members of the Working Parent Support Coalition for helping to pave the way for change.