Last chance to save on Digiday Publishing Summit passes is February 9
This research is based on unique data collected from our proprietary audience of publisher, agency, brand and tech insiders. It’s available to Digiday+ members. More from the series →
About two-thirds of agency employees say their agencies now offer maternity leave, with about 45% of the same employees saying their shops also give paid leave to new fathers.
That’s part of a new survey covering work-life, culture and careers conducted by Digiday Research early this year.
About 63% of the agencies that offered maternity leave offer between one and three months, while 29% of them offer more than three months.
In the U.S., where paid maternity leave is not mandatted by law, studies by the Society of Human Resource Management have shown that one in three — 33% — of companies now offer paid maternity leave, up from one in six 10 years ago.
In the same survey conducted last year, over 90% said that paid maternity leave was longer than a month and longer than three months for 32% of respondents. Comparatively, 42% said the paid paternity leave offered by their company was less than a month.
In general, the state of parental leave across the U.S. is a problem. But at ad agencies, staffers often bemoan that the industry hasn’t really put its money where its mouth is and created inclusive policies for parents to be able to take time off and return to work in a way that’s sustainable.
That’s not to say there haven’t been moves to try make a change. Movements like the Pledge Parental Leave had agencies sign up to offer at least three months of full paid leave to primary caregivers.
But overall, parental leave in general has been a hot-button topic across the industry. The issue has often been one of unevenness. As Digiday has previously reported, some agencies offer generous parental policies. Others don’t. And for many, the policies are often disjointed or unfair.
More in Marketing
What Amazon’s proposed big-box store could mean for Walmart
Public documents published by the Village of Orland Park described a 225,000-square-foot Amazon store that would sell a range of products.
Future of Marketing Briefing: AI companies are staffing up for a reputation fight
AI has an image problem, which explains why the industry is suddenly investing so much energy in who gets to tell its story.
Albertsons is putting digital screens for ads in more than a third of its stores
The retail giant has seen enough success in its digital screen network to begin a rollout in 800 of its 2,200-plus stores in 2026.