A word on maternity leave - Group Product Manager Genentech Employee Review

Thanks for sharing your thoughts about working at Genentech, especially about the overall value of our benefits and a specific benefit offering that we could do better. We’re committed to our people and take steps to provide competitive, comprehensive benefits to support a variety of needs. With that in mind, we made important changes to our Maternity and Paternity Leave Benefits in the beginning of 2015. The changes provide our expectant mothers, spouses, and domestic partners with more support and flexibility in preparing for and taking time off to bond with their new children. The specific changes include: · Expectant mothers in 2015 are able to use the 4 weeks off with pay either before or after the birth. Previously these 4 weeks were restricted for use prior to the birth. We made this change because we recognize that for some mothers, it’s more important for them to take extra paid time off during the pregnancy; for others, it’s of greater importance to have more paid time off to recover and bond with their newborn. · Expectant spouses and domestic partners in 2015 can take up to 6 weeks paid leave to bond with their new child and assist in its care. This change was made to address the inequity of our benefits between the “birthing” and “non-birthing” parents. Both mothers and spouses are guaranteed 12 weeks of job-protected time to spend bonding with their child regardless of their eligibility for federal or state leave time. We think these changes are important enhancements, and, based on feedback, are appreciated by employees. We recognize we can still do more, and are diligently working to ensure that we offer holistic and comprehensive benefits to our employees.