Deloitte to offer equal parental leave

Deloitte is to equalise its maternity and paternity leave allowance in a move that it hopes will help to boost the number of women in its senior ranks.
From the start of next year, new fathers who work at the accounting and consulting group will get 26 weeks of fully paid leave, the same as new mothers. At present fathers can take only four weeks off with full pay after the birth of their child.
Other big employers in Britain, including John Lewis, Goldman Sachs and Vodafone, already offer equal parental leave, but Deloitte is the first of the Big Four accounting firms — the others being EY, KPMG and PwC — to offer it.
“The evidence is clear about the impact of unequal parental leave on working mothers’ career progression,” Jackie Henry, Deloitte’s managing partner for people and purpose, said. “We know that key moment of the birth of a child sets expectations and an allocation of responsibilities for the future, and traditionally that has fallen to the mother.”
Deloitte’s 27,000 accountants and consultants generated fees of £5.6 billion last year, from which it made a profit of £756 million. On average, its partners received just over £1 million each last year.
Nearly half of Deloitte’s staff are women, but they account for only 28 per cent of its 1,300 partners. The proportions are similar at rival firms. All of them have been trying to boost female representation in their senior ranks for several years.
Those inside the industry have long suspected that childcare is a key reason why fewer women progress to partner level. Unequal parental leave means it makes financial sense for new mothers to take an extended period out of work, whereas fathers generally have little choice but to return quickly.
• Shared parental leave on the rise after birth of a child
Research by YouGov, commissioned by Deloitte, shows that most working mothers think that if their partner had more parental leave, it would help them to progress in their career. Almost 60 per cent said they had been forced to reduce their working hours because of the inflexibility of their co-parent’s workplace. In contrast, only 25 per cent of working fathers said they had needed to reduce their hours to accommodate their partner’s job.
In addition to equalising parental leave, Deloitte said it would give 12 weeks’ paid leave to staff whose newborn requires neonatal care, while those who are long-term carers for a relative or friend would be given an extra five days of annual leave. Women undergoing fertility treatment will be given paid leave while they do so.
“This is all about creating a more family-friendly firm that makes us an attractive employer and ensures that more of our female leaders can progress successfully within our firm,” Richard Houston, Deloitte’s UK chief executive, said. He pointed to the YouGov research, which showed that family leave was a “major factor” for nine-in-ten working parents when they are choosing an employer.