Mark Zuckerberg, chairman and chief executive of Facebook, Inc. said he planned to take two months of paternity leave after his daughter is born this year, amid a debate about work-life balance at technology companies.
"Priscilla and I are starting to get ready for our daughter's arrival," Zuckerberg began his post. "We've also been thinking about how we're going to take time off during the first months of her life. This is a very personal decision, and I've decided to take 2 months of paternity leave when our daughter arrives."
"Studies show that when working parents take time to be with their newborns, outcomes are better for the children and families. At Facebook we offer our US employees up to 4 months of paid maternity or paternity leave which they can take throughout the year," the father-to-be added.
Family leave policies have become the subject of much discussion in the tech industry. In August, Netflix, the streaming video service, said it was beginning an unlimited leave policy for new mothers and fathers for the first year after the birth or adoption of a child. That same month, Microsoft said it would offer new parents an additional eight weeks of paid time off, in a boost to its previous policy. Adobe also shifted its leave policies, as did Amazon in November by offering 20 weeks of leave for birth mothers and as much as six weeks for fathers.
Zuckerberg and his wife Dr. Priscilla Chan have not shared an exact due date for the Zuckerbaby, but he did say " Every day things are getting a little more real for us, and we're excited to start this next stage in our lives," Zuckerberg is speaking for himself and wife Priscilla Chan.
Zuckerberg first announced the pregnancy in July, when he shared a surprisingly personal post detailing the couple's struggles with miscarriages. This will be the first baby for Zuckerberg and Chan, who met while students at Harvard and married in 2012.
In response to the paternity leave announcement, Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook's chief operating officer, posted: "Enjoy the precious early months with your daughter - I can't wait to meet her."
