To understand how tech employers approach this important benefit for recruiting, PaperG surveyed 97 tech companies on their maternity and paternity leave policies. Respondents ranged in size from seed-funded to post-IPO, including: Inkling Facebook Google Twitch.TV PayPal Optimize.ly Medium Nextdoor Stripe Upstart

1. www.paperg.com
paper
The Startup Maternity & Paternity
Leave Policy Survey
Presented by: PaperG, Inc.

2. www.paperg.com
paper Maternity/Paternity Leave Startup Survey
Would you work for a tech company or startup
that didn’t have a paid maternity leave policy?
61%
of women
in technology
would not
Sample size of 101 women working at a startup or technology company

3. www.paperg.com
paper
Employer Survey Methodology
To understand how tech employers approach this important benefit for recruiting,
PaperG surveyed 97 tech companies on their maternity and paternity leave policies.
Respondents ranged in size from seed-funded to post-IPO, including:
Inkling
Facebook
Google
Twitch.TV
PayPal
Optimize.ly
Medium
Nextdoor
Stripe
Upstart
Maternity/Paternity Leave Startup Survey

4. www.paperg.com
paper
0%
50%
66%
57%
100%
100%
38%
44%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
120%
Seed
Series A
Series B
Series C
Series D
Post-IPO
% of companies
that offer paid
maternity leave
%of companies
that offer paid
paternity leave
Funding Stage!
Seed stage companies are completely missing out on female talent due to a
lack of paid leave policies. Some Series A, B, and C companies are too.
Stage of Funding vs. Paid Maternity and Paternity Leave Offering
Maternity/Paternity Leave Startup Survey

5. www.paperg.com
paper
Older companies tend to have maternity and paternity policies, allowing them
to attract more talent.
6%
6%
31%
56%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1
2
3
4+
AgeinYears!
% of startups that offer a paid paternity and maternity
leave policy!
Maternity/Paternity Leave Startup Survey

6. www.paperg.com
Maternity/Paternity Leave Startup Survey
paper
33%
63%
85%
N/A
N/A
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
0%-20%
21%-40%
41%-60%
61%-80%
81%-100%
The greater the representation of females at a tech company the more likely
it is to have a paid maternity leave policy.
Representation of Females!
%ofCompaniesThatHavea
MaternityLeavePolicy!
Female Representation at Startups vs. Maternity Leave Policy Implementation

7. www.paperg.com
Maternity/Paternity Leave Startup Survey
paper
22%
38%
85%
0%
0%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
0%-20%
21%-40%
41%-60%
61%-80%
81%-100%
Surprisingly, the greater the representation of females at a tech company the
more likely it is to have a paid paternity leave policy.
%ofCompaniesThatHavea
PaternityLeavePolicy!
Representation of Females!
Female Representation at Startups vs. Paternity Leave Policy Implementation

8. www.paperg.com
paper
Of the companies surveyed that offer a paid maternity leave policy, 71% offer a
paid paternity leave policy as well.
71%
Maternity
Leave
Policy
Paternity
Leave
Policy
Maternity/Paternity Leave Startup Survey

9. www.paperg.com
paper
25%
5%
20%
50%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
< 1
1
2
3+
Half of tech companies with paid maternity policies offer 3 or more months. The
other half varies drastically.
Months of Paid Maternity Leave Offered!
%ofCompaniesThatGive
PaidMaternityLeave!
How Many Months of Paid Maternity Leave Does Your Company’s Policy Give?
Maternity/Paternity Leave Startup Survey

10. www.paperg.com
paper
43%
29%
21%
7%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
< 1
1
2
3+
Plurality of tech companies offer less than a month of paid paternity leave.
Months of Paid Paternity Leave Offered!
How Many Months of Paid Paternity Leave Does Your Company’s Policy Give?
%ofCompaniesThatGive
PaidPaternityLeave!
Maternity/Paternity Leave Startup Survey

11. www.paperg.com
paper
50%
66%
100%
66%
33%
25%
33%
50%
75%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
120%
Series A
Series B
Series C
Series D
Post-IPO
<1
1
2
3+
We found no relationship between the funding stage of a tech company and
the amount of paid maternity leave offered to employees.
Amount of
leave given in
months
Funding Stage of Startup!
Stage of Funding vs. Amount of Paid Maternity Leave Given
Maternity/Paternity Leave Startup Survey

12. www.paperg.com
paper
33%
50%
66%
100%
25%
33%
33%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
120%
Series A
Series B
Series C
Series D
Post-IPO
<1
1
2
3+
We found no relationship between the funding stage of a tech company and
the amount of paid paternity leave offered to employees.
Amount of
leave given in
months
Funding Stage of Startup!
Stage of Funding vs. Amount of Paid Paternity Leave Given
Maternity/Paternity Leave Startup Survey

13. www.paperg.com
paper
Immediate Survey Takeaways
Funding Stage Benchmarks
• 0% of seed-funded companies have a maternity or paternity policy
• 50% of funded startups begin implementing such policies at Series A
• 100% of startups have put it in place both paternity and maternity policies by the Series D
stage and post-IPO.
Policy Benchmarks
• 50% of paid maternity policies offered 3 or more months
• Typically, paid paternity policies are <1 month
Interesting Correlations
• Size of company v. female representation (+)
• Female representation v. likelihood of having paid maternity policy (+)
• Female representation v. likelihood of having paid paternity policy (+)
Maternity/Paternity Leave Startup Survey

14. paper
Future Survey Follow Ups
Impacts on Recruiting
• Does the lack of maternity leave policy contribute to the gender gap at tech companies and
startups as a whole?
• Could paternity leave be used as a perk at tech companies mostly male?
• Do startups attract younger employees who don’t care about maternity or paternity
policies?
• Are tech companies better or worse at providing maternity/paternity policies than non-tech
companies?
Maternity/Paternity Leave Startup Survey
www.paperg.com