Ground breaking initiative offers all employees worldwide—male and female—a minimum of 12 weeks paid leave during the first 12 months following the birth or adoption of their child 

CA Technologies (NASDAQ:CA) today announced a groundbreaking policy for new parents to promote and extend gender parity across the organisation.

The Company will offer all employees globally—male and female— a minimum of 12 weeks paid leave during the first 12 months following the birth or adoption of their child. As well as supporting female employees following the birth of their child this will encourage male as well as female employees to be actively involved in the initial months of caring for their new child. This forward-thinking policy will help CA Technologies to create an even more inclusive culture and position the Company as an employer of choice both among existing employees and in attracting new talent.

“CA Technologies is delighted to announce the launch of this innovative and exciting new parent leave policy, which will enhance our existing broad range of family friendly benefits” says Gail Wilkinson, SVP People, CA Technologies. “Equality, diversity and inclusion have a vital role to play in business success and this new policy—a first for the technology industry—will help drive an even greater level of gender balance across our global business while offering a more rewarding employee experience. The technology industry has particular gender parity challenges and we are confident that this new parent policy will also play a wider leadership role in promoting a more sustainable, prosperous, and inclusive society.”

The new parent leave policy has already been launched by CA Technologies in the U.S. and will now be rolled out worldwide. Male and female employees will receive a minimum of 12 weeks paid leave during the first 12 months following the birth or adoption of their child. Employees will be eligible for new parent leave if they have 12 months service at the date the child is born, or for adoptive parents where a child is matched or newly placed with them. Employees can choose to take a shorter period of leave if they choose, and salaries and benefits will continue to be paid in the normal way.

 Closing the equality gap

The exponential advance of technology brings tremendous potential to society. However, organisations need to overcome gender imbalance in order to achieve sustainable growth in this fast-paced digital world. According to a report by the European Institute of Gender Equality, for example, closing the gender gap in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) education could lead to an improvement in European Union GDP of up to €820 billion in 2050. A report by McKinsey meanwhile, Delivering Through Diversity, finds that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on the executive teams are more likely to have above-average profitability.

This new parent leave policy reflects CA Technologies commitment to encouraging and promoting this gender parity for both women and men, while recognising the historically disadvantaged position of women in the workplace. It is also part of a wider, multi award-winning talent management strategy to ensure the people working at CA Technologies have the skills needed for the future of work. These steps include leadership learning and development, unconscious bias training opportunities, flexible working and other initiatives to support family responsibilities, employee consultation, and targets for improving gender equality outcomes.

“Despite the exponential change technology is making to society, a gender gap remains across the technology industry which threatens the opportunity for continued innovation,” says Gail Wilkinson, SVP People, CA Technologies.  “This new parent leave policy is another example of how CA Technologies allows employees to balance their work and personal lives in a diverse culture where ideas are openly shared and respected.”

The new parent leave policy strengthens CA’s already family-friendly benefit offerings. Some of the global benefits that all employees can access include:

• Reimbursement for shipment of milk for travelling mothers
• Gift bundles for new babies and pets
• Pet Benefits – time to care for your pet upon adoption or to grieve when you lose a pet
• Five days leave for bereavement of immediate family member