Volvo to offer equal parental leave for fathers in bid to bolster gender equality

Car manufacturer Volvo is to offer full parental leave to fathers in a bid to support equal parenting and the career progression of female senior managers.

From 1 April, the Swedish firm is introducing its “Family Bond” policy which will benefit more than 40,000 employees across its plants and offices.

“We want to create a culture that supports equal parenting for all genders,” said Håkan Samuelsson, CEO of Volvo Cars.

“When parents are supported to balance the demands of work and family, it helps to close the gender gap and allows everyone to excel in their careers. We have always been a family-oriented and human-centric company”, he added, “Through the Family Bond programme, we are demonstrating and living our values, which in turn will strengthen our brand.”

The new approach will mean all employees are entitled to 24-weeks parental leave, receiving 80 per cent pay – regardless of gender, and including adoptive, foster care and surrogate parents.

It aims to increase the number of women in executive roles to 50 per cent, around a third of senior managers within the firm currently are female.

Mr Samuelsson said he didn’t want to see women “overtaken when they have kids”.

Volvo said the move is inspired by national legislation in Sweden on parental leave which has already shown benefits for both parents and children.

“This is more than a new parental leave policy for our employees — it is the embodiment of our company culture and values,” said Hanna Fager, head of corporate functions at Volvo Cars.

Volvo currently offers six months of paid leave to new mothers but follows local country regulations for fathers.

However, a parental leave pilot scheme launched by the firm in Europe, the Middle East and Africa in 2019 saw a take up of 46 percent by fathers.

It also revealed the obstacles to making it the new ‘norm’.

The firm found some the issues limiting uptake of parental leave included parents’ concerns about the impact it might have on their team, fear around long-term career opportunities and a cultural mindset about what is expected of fathers in the workplace and at home.

To combat this Volvo, has presented the 24 weeks parental leave as the default pre-selected option.

Volvo is not the first to adopt an equal approach to parental leave. Drinks firm Diageo offers 26 weeks paternity leave in some countries and asset management company Standard Life Aberdeen has a policy of nine months leave for both parents.