Swedish automaker Volvo Cars said on Tuesday it would give its 40,000 employees worldwide the right to six-month paid parental leave in a bid to increase gender equality and attract talent.
As of 1 April, employees who have worked for the car manufacturer for at least one year will be entitled to the benefit at 80% of their salary.
Employees can take those weeks whenever they like during the first three years after the birth of their child.
This policy is based on Sweden’s national parental leave policy, one of the most generous in the world with 480 days to be shared by both parents at 80% of their salary up to a ceiling of around $4,500 a month.
The policy had been introduced by other Swedish companies, including a music streaming company Spotify which in 2015 introduced a six-month parental leave with full pay.
Similar programmes were announced by Ikea in 2017 in India and the US.
Volvo Cars, which said that around 75% of its employees were men, has been testing the policy in a pilot scheme since 2019 for sales staff in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, in which 46% of applicants were fathers.
Fager said paid parental leave was rare in the automotive industry but also geographically.
“We have a lot of people in China and the US and this will be a big improvement compared to what is offered there today,” said Fager.
“Of course this will cost money but … we see this as a long term investment,” she said, adding the company expected “positive outcomes, that we attract more diverse talents, (and) that we also become a more attractive company.”
Volvo said the initiative would include all legally registered parents, including adoptive, foster care and surrogate parents, as well as non-birth parents in same-sex couples.
