Nairobi — Old Mutual Kenya has increased maternity leave for staff to four months to create a conducive working environment and promote gender equality, among other things.
Previously, parental leave was limited to three months.
The extension will benefit women who experience child loss (miscarriage) as well as births.
"We recognize that the journey to motherhood is different for every woman, and they need support in each season. Our new measures are designed to create a supportive environment for all our staff and promote gender equality," said the company's Group Human Capital Executive East Africa, Nkirote Njiru.
Similarly, paternity leave has been increased from two weeks to one month to support partners.
The announcement was made yesterday at the Old Mutual Women Network (OWN) breakfast event, which brought together women from across the organization to share and connect.
OWN was created in 2016 to provide women with a forum to share, connect, and develop themselves in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and South Sudan.
Its activities are centered around six pillars: community outreach, networking, coaching and mentoring, diversity and inclusivity, care and sharing, and empowerment in business acumen.
"Technology can be an equalizer that provides platforms for women to learn, get progressive jobs, connect, and bring in the female view that is sometimes forgotten when building products or services," Microsoft Africa Development Centre MD Catherine Muraga said.
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Old Mutual also announced plans to develop a diversity, equity, inclusivity, and belonging policy to promote equity and equality across the board.
The policy, which is currently going through a consultation phase to define its framework, will consider factors such as age, religion, skills, and differently-abled persons to promote gender equality beyond the hiring stage.
"This month, we have an exciting opportunity to explore how the tech world has impacted gender dynamics,"OWN East Africa Patron Anne Nyamu stated.
"As aligned with this year's IWD theme, we shall host a tech extravaganza series, which will see women in tech sharing their experiences and the opportunities in this space that we can leverage to better our productivity."
