Fidelity International joins the growing list of employers who are offering both their male and female staff full paid parental leave for six months.

The move will come into effect for children who are born, via surrogacy or placed for adoption on or after 1 September 2020 and will offer up to 26 weeks of paid parental leave for each parent employed by the company within the first 12 months of a child’s arrival. 

Operating in more than 25 locations and with $479.9 billion in total assets, Fidelity International is one of the biggest asset managers in the world. Their decision will hopefully influence others to follow suit.

The firm’s previous policy meant that fathers and secondary careers were only eligible to six weeks of parental leave.

Opportunities for working parents is one of the main issues regarding gender equality in the workplace, with mothers often expected to carry the childcare workload. A study found that 54,000 new mothers in the UK lose their jobs each year and even if they retain them, the so-called “mummy tax” means lower pay, part-time working, missed promotions, and reduced opportunities. Fidelity International’s new policy allows for both new mothers and fathers to continue their career on the same foot.

The changes are not exclusive to fathers or heterosexual couples either, as secondary carers can take the same amount of parental leave as primary carers, ensuring that same-sex couples are included in the new policy.

This is another move forward in Fidelity International’s commitment to creating an inclusive and equal working culture for all.  These new enhancements will ensure that all employees will be supported to spend time caring for their children, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, location or how they become a parent.

Anne Richards joined Fidelity International as CEO in 2018, and she said on the change: “We want to be a market leader and offer an inclusive culture where all our people may spend time caring for their children and thrive in their careers.  We are therefore delighted to be announcing our new parental leave policy and are especially proud to be offering this globally to all our employees.”

Having been with Fidelity for over 20 years, Sally Nelson, Chief People Officer, Fidelity International, adds: “Fidelity International has diversity and inclusion at its heart and treating parents equally and creating a level playing field for all genders is incredibly important to us.  This family-friendly policy will offer the flexibility to support childcare needs and will transform parenthood for many families.”