Yahoo’s Marissa Mayer extends maternity, paternity leave

In a bid to bring Yahoo Inc. more in line with competitors such as Google and Facebook, Chief Executive Marissa Mayer has expanded the company’s family leave policy.

Yahoo said Tuesday that Mayer has doubled maternity leave and extended paternity leave to eight weeks.

“We’ve been very focused on making Yahoo! the absolute best place to work,” a Yahoo representative said in an emailed statement.

“Over the last several months, we’ve introduced new benefits like free food to make Yahoos’ days easier, new smartphones to encourage innovation, and updated computers to speed productivity,” the statement said.

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The new policy will allow mothers to take up to four months of paid leave. Parents who adopt will be able to take eight weeks off from work.

Yahoo will also give new parents $500 to spend on baby items and related services. New pets will also get some freebies, Yahoo said. Employees can get Yahoo-branded gifts for their cats and dogs.

The family leave extension comes only a few months after Mayer ended Yahoo’s telecommuting policy, causing an uproar among working parents.

Observers speculated that in curbing telecommuting, Mayer sought to trim unproductive workers.

Under Mayer, employee perks have been boosted to attract top-notch talent.

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