Some Companies Move to Gender-Blind Leave for New Parents

Some companies are discarding parental-leave policies that encode distinctions between mothers and fathers, arguably holding women back at work and relegating men to secondary roles at home. Instead, they are offering gender-blind time off for all new parents. The companies are now framing the first months of a baby's life as a time for mothers and fathers alike to bond with their children and establish a more equal sharing of responsibilities, reports the Wall Street Journal . Such policies are rare in the United States, the only industrialized nation with no federally mandated paid parental-leave policy. The advantages of a gender-blind approach extend far beyond the baby. There is mounting evidence that women's professional and economic prospects are hampered when mothers bear a greater share of home and family duties than their partners.