Paid Parental Leave of the 500 Largest U.S. Public Companies

As of 2025, I evaluated the paid parental leave policies of the 500 largest public companies in the U.S., assigning each company a score for its policy transparency as well as its policy quality.

To compete for human capital, firms offer benefits to attract and retain employees. Gender diversity continues to be a challenge for firms, especially at senior levels. Firms are fighting a “leaky pipeline” of female employees that leads to a dearth of senior female leaders. Paid parental leave benefits are a way to support and retain working parents in general—and working mothers in particular—at a critical moment when many leave the workforce. Firms have clearly signaled that they see a retention benefit from paid parental leave. For example, when Google extended its paid parental leave from 12 weeks to 18 weeks, the retention rate of women following maternity leave increased by 50% (Wojcicki, Wall Street Journal, 2014).

Transparency matters for both firms and workers. From an employee perspective, benefits constitute 30% of the total compensation of private industry workers in the United States (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, 2025). Paid parental leave is an extremely valuable benefit for working parents, particularly for the women who are the primary users of this benefit. Transparency around paid parental leave helps workers make better-informed career choices. When firms choose not to disclose their paid parental leave policies, it can invite speculation, as prospective employees may turn to third-party websites that often provide conflicting or inaccurate accounts shaped by uneven state programs and varied individual experiences. For firms competing on culture and talent, that ambiguity can come at a cost. Additionally, transparency in paid parental leave policies enables better benchmarking against peers, allowing firms to establish more competitive and informed policies.

Scoring methodology

Transparency:

  • 1: Firm doesn’t state on their website whether they provide paid parental leave

  • 2: Firm confirms on their website whether they provide paid parental leave but does not provide details of their policy

  • 3: Firm confirms on their website whether they provide paid parental leave and provides details of their policy

Policy:

  • 1: Firm doesn’t provide paid parental leave

  • 2: Unknown if firm provides paid parental leave

  • 3: Firm provides paid parental leave and the length of the primary parent’s paid leave is in the bottom (1st) quartile relative to other firms in the sample

  • 4: Firm provides paid parental leave and the length of the primary parent’s paid leave is in the 2nd quartile relative to other firms in the sample

  • 5: Firm provides paid parental leave and the length of the primary parent’s paid leave is in the 3rd quartile relative to other firms in the sample

  • 6: Firm provides paid parental leave and the length of the primary parent’s paid leave is in the top (4th) quartile relative to other firms in the sample

A “gold standard” for parent-friendly policies

The following companies meet a “gold standard” in parent-friendly policies:

  • They offer paid parental leave benefits without a tenure requirement (e.g., employees are eligible to utilize paid parental leave benefits immediately upon hire)

  • They proactively publish and clearly explain the tenets of their paid parental leave policy

  • They offer at least 12 weeks of paid parental leave for mothers and other primary or birthing parents

  • They provide paid parental leave for fathers and other secondary or non-birthing parents

  • They include benefits for family formation such as fertility, surrogacy, and/or adoption assistance

  • They offer back-up and/or subsidized childcare

Highest-scoring PPL transparency and policy companies

The following firms scored highest for transparency (they share the details of their paid parental leave policy publicly on their website) and the length of the paid parental leave provided to primary parents is in the top quartile relative to the other firms in the sample.

Full list of the paid parental leave transparency and policy scores of the 500 largest U.S. public companies

Notes on data and methodology

This list was generated from S&P CapitalIQ based on the 500 largest U.S. public companies by LTM revenue as of July 22, 2025. Primary parent paid parental leave is defined as the total paid time off provided to full-time, U.S.-based primary parents following the birth of a child. Firms use varied language in identifying their paid parental leave policies. For the purposes of this research, primary parent paid parental leave intends to capture the total paid time off provided to primary parents (the modal case being a mother) following the birth of a child. This includes policies that might be called birthing, maternity, parental and/or bonding leave. In instances where firms have multiple paid parental leave offerings based on employment type (e.g., salaried vs. hourly), birthing status, parent status (e.g., primary vs. secondary), or refer to leave length in terms of a maximum amount, the most generous (longest) policy was used. If a company specified that birthing parents are eligible for additional paid time off for pregnancy disability, that was assumed to be a period of 6 weeks unless stated otherwise. If a company specified additional leave for a C-section birth, that incremental time was excluded from the weeks of leave used in this analysis. To the extent possible, an official source was used to determine the policy of a firm (e.g., that posted on the firm’s website or provided in a press release or other official outlet). When an official source was not available, unofficial sources (e.g., information shared by employees on online forums) were used if and when they were consistent.

This database is updated regularly. If your company has changed its policy or the way the policy is shared on your website, you can contribute directly to my paid parental leave policy database here or reach out to me at hillarycookler@ucla.edu. I am also available to help your company design a paid parental leave offering that is comprehensive and competitive with peer firms.