By Yasmeen Abutaleb
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook Inc (O:FB)
Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said on Friday he will take two
months of paternity leave after his daughter's birth, a strong
statement from one of the busiest and most powerful U.S. executives on
the importance of family time.
Silicon Valley technology firms
have rushed to extend parental leave allowances and other benefits in an
attempt to recruit and retain talent, but many workers do not take
advantage for fear of falling behind at work or missing out on
promotions.
Facebook, the world's biggest online social network,
allows its U.S. employees to take up to four months of paid maternity or
paternity leave, which can be used all at once or throughout the first
year of their child's life, a policy which is generous by U.S.
standards. Zuckerberg announced in July that he and his wife, Priscilla
Chan, were expecting a baby girl.
A 2015 study by the Society
for Human Resource Management found that 21 percent of employers it
surveyed offered paid maternity leave, and 17 percent provided paid
paternity leave.
"This is a very personal decision," Zuckerberg
wrote on his Facebook page, along with a picture of a stroller, a yellow
baby carrier and his dog, Beast. "Studies show that when working
parents take time to be with their newborns, outcomes are better for the
children and families."
Zuckerberg, 31, did not say who would
be running the company while he is out. Facebook did not immediately
respond to an inquiry.
It is likely that chief operating officer
Sheryl Sandberg, who oversees all of Facebook's advertising, will
assume leadership. Zuckerberg largely oversees products, but will likely
rely on chief product officer Chris Cox while he is out.
Zuckerberg's decision is unusual among high-level tech executives, especially men. Yahoo Inc (O:YHOO)
CEO Marissa Mayer took two weeks off after her first child's birth in
2012, and when she announced she was pregnant with identical twin girls
in September, she said she would be taking limited maternity leave and
"working throughout."
Zuckerberg's post generated more than
50,000 'likes' in one hour and nearly 3,000 comments. Many of the
comments lauded his decision and said it sent a positive message about
U.S. parental leave policies.
Sandberg commented and
congratulated Zuckerberg and his wife. Noting the baby's upcoming birth,
she wrote in her post: "I can't wait to meet her."
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