Why paternity leave matters for everyone
Global Head of Inclusion, Diversity and Engagement
Statutory paid paternity leave isn’t available in all countries and, where it’s available, all men are not taking it. There could be many reasons, such as:
- a lack of awareness on how paternity leave could be used,
- concern on how a long break could impact work or career,
- in many cultures it is assumed that women play the role of the primary caregiver.
This reluctance to take paternity leave is puzzling if you consider how men, their partners, their children and their companies benefit when men spend time with their children in the time after their arrival. Therefore, at AXA IM, we provide a minimum of 4 weeks of paid leave to men and co-parents around the world, to allow them to shoulder responsibility for caregiving.
In our offices worldwide, we support parents to manage their careers with us whilst also managing the challenges of family life. This applies to individuals who are new parents, as well as those who are soon to become parents. We also recognise biological, adoptive, same-sex and single parents.
Our commitments are detailed in our global parent policy which aims to eliminate barriers to taking leave for everyone and ultimately ensure a diverse and inclusive working environment for all new parents.
In addition to the paid time off, all recent parents in our company have access to 1-2-1 coaching and targeted resources to manage the transition to working parenthood.
Our people's voices
Hear from some of our colleagues who share about their 4-weeks paternity leave experience.
"I felt encouraged to consider the birth as my priority."
"It was very beneficial for me and my family."
"My paternity leave allowed me to be an equal parent raising my new-born daughter."
"I could not imagine leaving my wife alone to welcome our new baby into our home."
