I've recently started a new job at a Tech company in the Commercial Real Estate space on the Client Success team.

I've recently started a new job at a Tech company in the Commercial Real Estate space on the Client Success team. The job has been challenging and rewarding enough (not a dream job by any means, but I'm satisfied with the team and learning opportunities). I recently learned, however, that the parental leave policy is well... pretty much non existent. I'm currently 15 weeks pregnant and finally spoke to HR last week to get a sense of what I can expect. I was told that they'll make up the different between what the state pays and your actual salary for one month, then it's basically FMLA/unpaid leave should I choose to go longer. I don't know if I've just been spoiled by previous jobs in tech/start-ups that have been much more generous with parental benefits but is this normal? I've also recently learned there are a couple other women on my team who are expecting and I can't help but wonder if they feel similarly. Does anyone have any experience advocating for better Parental leave benefits? I'm still very new to the company so I'm a little worried about making too much noise but also can't shake the feeling that the company can do much better.

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  1. Krystal Cooper

    Hi! Unfortunately, not all states have Parental Leave Laws and/or benefits. Also, oftentimes, companies will not offer paid family leave or maternity leave to you until you have been with them for 6 months or more. Do you have the ability to tap into STD benefits? That usually does some form of salary continuation.

    In the end, if your company truly values diversity and equity, they should come up with a better leave policy than that. In this market, it isn't competitive.

  2. Anonymous

    Great advice here from Krystal. Do you have a relationship with the other women that you could talk to them about it?

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