Kejal Macdonald, the vice president of marketing at THINX, a startup that makes period-proof underwear, was nervous about telling her higher-ups that she was expecting a baby.

"It can be scary to even tell your workplace that you’re pregnant," says Macdonald, even at a company that’s built its brand on feminist messaging.

After she shared the news, Macdonald was given access to three months of paid leave, a company benefit that is offered to all new parents at THINX, whether they’re the birth parent or not.

Macdonald’s experience at THINX is the exception.

Only 14% of private sector employees in the US have access to paid family leave through their employer. For low-wage employees, that rate plummets to 6%.

However, startups like THINX and an increasing number of larger corporations facing a tight labor market in which employees have more choice about where to work, are interested in retaining top talent and building a family-friendly work culture. To do so, they’ve adopted paid family leave practices for their employees.

"There is a level of humanity in our company that is really refreshing," says Macdonald.

Read the full article about competing for talent with paid family leave by Pippa Biddle at ImpactAlpha.