This parental leave policy stands out as a bright spot in a gloomy corporate climate for women

Good morning! A Planned Parenthood case goes in front of the Supreme Court, a female founder who raised $530 million is accused of financial misconduct, and the best companies to work for have something in common.

- Leave it. There’s a lot of doom and gloom around company policies these days, from endless DEI rollbacks to return-to-office mandates that leave little room for the flexibility that has helped working parents thrive. A new Fortune package—featuring the annual Best Companies to Work For list—highlights the bright spots and where businesses are standing firm on the policies and benefits that support their employees. Fortune reporter Brit Morse is the author of MPW Daily sister newsletter CHRO Daily, and she has a piece today on a company whose parental leave policy stands out. Read her story below and subscribe to CHRO Daily for more like this:

In 2019, IT giant Hewlett Packard Enterprise made the decision to expand its parental leave offerings. Any employee who has worked at the company for more than a year can take 26 weeks of fully paid leave to care for a new child, and has the option of taking additional time off unpaid. On average women at the company take 33 weeks of leave, and men and adoptive parents take about 30 weeks.

Then there’s its 10 days of backup caregiver leave. Around 78% of Fortune 500 HR leaders say they’ve faced hurdles when persuading higher ups to see the long-term benefits of paying for childcare, according to a recent report from education facilitator Kindercare. But the company has found that making a big bet on these foundational perks can pay off in the long run.

“From senior leadership all the way down, everybody gets the same message that if they’re becoming a parent and they want to take the time, that they absolutely can,” Samanntha DuBridge, VP of benefits, culture, and people care at HPE, tells Fortune.

That’s a big difference from the options most working parents in the U.S. have after the arrival of a new baby. Under federal law, companies with 50 or more employees are required to provide workers with 12 weeks of job-protected leave, although workers who take it don’t have to be paid during that time. Less than a third (27%) of private companies in the U.S. offer some kind of paid leave for parents, according to 2023 data from the Department of Labor.

Enhanced parental leave benefits seem to be paying off for HPE. About 88% of employees say that the programs the company offers shows how it cares about the overall well-being of its staff and their families, and 95% says they have the flexibility they need to handle both their professional and personal needs. For that reason, HPE landed at No. 84 on the Best Companies to Work For list.

“Our parental leave policy demonstrates to team members that when we talk about the importance of well-being, we mean what we say,” says DuBridge. Read the full story here—and subscribe to CHRO Daily for more throughout the rest of the week on the DEI programs and remote work policies that stand out today in a fast-changing business environment.

Brit Morse
brit.morse@fortune.com

The Most Powerful Women Daily newsletter is Fortune’s daily briefing for and about the women leading the business world. Today’s edition was curated by Nina Ajemian. Subscribe here.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com