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Parenting

24th Aug 2017

Mark Zuckerberg on paid parental leave: ‘It’s good for the entire family’

It makes sense

Olivia Hayes

It certainly makes sense.

Mark Zuckerberg has made his feelings known about paid parental leave.

Taking to Facebook (of course), the entrepreneur explained how he was delighted to be able to take the time off after his first daughter was born.

The social media network founder then went on to talk about his plans for the rest of the year, since his wife, Priscilla, is expecting their second baby soon.

A post shared by Mark Zuckerberg (@zuck) on

“When Max was born, I took two months of paternity leave. I will always be grateful I could spend so much time with her in the first months of her life.

“Our new daughter is coming soon, and I’m planning to take two months of paternity leave again. This time, I’m going to take advantage of Facebook’s option to take leave in parts.

“I’ll take a month off to be with Priscilla and the girls at the beginning, and then we’ll spend the whole month of December together as well,” he said.

“I’m looking forward to bonding with our new little one and taking Max on adventures.”

A post shared by Mark Zuckerberg (@zuck) on

Mark then explained how parental leave works in Facebook, and said he trusts the company to remain on its feet until he comes back.

“At Facebook, we offer four months of maternity and paternity leave because studies show that when working parents take time to be with their newborns, it’s good for the entire family. And I’m pretty sure the office will still be standing when I get back.”

In Ireland, parental leave lasts for 18 weeks, so it’s refreshing to see such a big company be open to parents taking longer amounts of time off.