Companies in the aerospace industry are not historically known for their generous paid parental leave policies.
The industry also sees a lot of skilled employees leave after having children: 43% of women and 23% of men drop out of STEM careers within four to seven years of having their first child.
The lack of paid parental leave is likely a key factor pushing new parent employees into part-time roles or different career paths that offer more flexible and supportive work environments, which comes at a massive cost:
- Without progressive parental leave policies, aerospace companies may lose out on highly educated, sought-after talent in highly competitive fields
- They then have to rehire, retrain and replace these skilled employees, wasting money and time that could’ve been spent on innovation
After Emily Calandrelli – an MIT-engineer turned Emmy-nominated science TV host – came to us about how to change this, we worked together using our template to make the business case for extended parental leave in the aerospace industry.
In a recent interview with Emily, we discussed the impact minimal paid parental leave has on the aerospace industry and how she used her platform to make a difference.