Image by Nicole Todd
“Violence against women affects me as a human being—my message shouldn’t be a feminist message. It’s a universal message.” — Bad Bunny
Is it a cheap trick to open with a Bad Bunny quote? Probably. Am I above it? Certainly not.
As a women’s studies minor and lifelong feminist, I have spent a lot of time mulling over feminist issues, and I firmly believe in the concept behind what Bad Bunny is highlighting here. Most things we call women’s issues are just human issues and segmenting them off usually does their cause a disservice.
I feel the same way about parental leave. It’s on all of us to help make sure folks can have and raise kids, and adequate parental leave is part of that.
In the staffing agency world, benefits like parental leave are rare. Most staffing models treat staffing consultants and contract workers as temporary resources: deliver the work, finish the contract, move on. Benefits are minimal, and life events are often treated as inconveniences to the system.
But having children isn’t an inconvenience. It’s how societies continue. If we want thriving communities, people must be able to have and raise children without sacrificing their careers. That responsibility has not been picked up by our government, so for now it belongs to all of us, including companies.
That’s why we provide paid parental leave to our staffing consultants.
Our team is made up of experts who help our clients ship campaigns, launch products, and scale content programs. They’re professionals with careers and lives. Supporting them through major life moments is good policy. And it’s good for business.
People do their best work when they know they’re valued as humans, not just as billable hours. And by respectfully handling our consultants’ parental leave needs, including temporary replacements and overlap time for handoffs, we’re also helping our clients. Win/win.