This Year’s Biggest Wins For Women in the Workplace

1. The Silicon Valley paid leave arms race

‘Innovation’ street sign, Silicon Valley, California, USABruce T. Brown Getty Images

It all started when movie-streaming company Netflix announced a policy under which salaried employees would receive a full year of paid leave after the birth or adoption of a child. Other tech giants quickly followed suit, with Microsoft, Adobe, Amazon, and eBay all announcing more comprehensive family and maternal leave policies. The exact details of every policy vary, but the message these companies are sending is clear: Family is important to employees, so it’s important to them, too.

2. Million-dollar spending on diversity initiatives

The Intel logo is displayed outside of the Intel headquarters in Santa Clara, California.Photograph by Justin Sullivan—Getty Images

At the beginning of the year, tech giant Intel announced a $300 million diversity initiative to train and recruit female and other under-represented groups of computer scientists. Similarly, Google said it planned spend $150 million on diversity in 2015, while Facebook launched TechPrep, an online resource for minority learners. Of course, all the money in the world doesn’t mean a thing unless these programs actually work, but putting them in motion is the first step.

3. Unconscious bias training at work

Photograph by John Lund—Getty Images/Blend Images

This year, unconscious bias training became a standard part of the lexicon of HR departments nationwide. Major corporations, including Facebook, Coca-Cola, and Google have implemented anti-bias training workshops. Some of these, like the one at Facebook, are held online, while others, such the one run by global advertising agency FCB, are in-person sessions.

4. Shipment of breast milk for nursing employees

IBM Multinational HeadquartersPhotograph by Cristina Arias—Getty Images

IBM made a splash this year when it launched a service that allows moms traveling on business to send expressed breast milk back home to their babies. Accenture also jumped on the breast milk-shipment bandwagon, joining fellow professional services firm EY, which tells Coins2Day that it’s had a similar program in place for years. With any luck, the trend will continue to spread in 2016, making the lives of moms who travel on a regular basis just a bit more manageable.

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