Celebrating life by introducing equal parental leave

Vilvoorde, April 1^st, 2020 - At Novartis, we celebrate life and recognize moments that matter…one of these key moments is when our associates welcome new life into their lives. Becoming a parent is one of the most life changing events that people experience and Novartis wants to celebrate this with you.

Novartis Belgium is proud to roll out equal parental leave to all new parents through birth or adoption, regardless of gender. This is a symbol of equality for all new parents at Novartis, offering choice and giving parents precious time to spend bonding with their new babies and families. The equal parental leave by Novartis consists of a minimum period of 14 weeks paid leave.

By offering the same parental leave to all parents, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, we want to encourage a cultural shift, making it ok for fathers and non-birthing partners to embrace an approach to family care that is closer to that traditionally taken by mothers. In so doing, we hope to provide greater choice and opportunity for mothers, too.

Achieving balance is fundamental to achieving our purpose of reimagining medicine because it allows us to tap into a broad diversity of experiences and backgrounds, to be constantly open to new ideas and ways of thinking. We celebrate diversity because all of our people are unique.

By giving everyone the flexibility and opportunity to contribute and grow, we will inspire greater curiosity and collaboration, and ultimately, greater innovation. This policy is our clear signal and encouragement for all parents to take an equal role in family care and to find the right balance.