Telenor adopts six-month paid maternity leave policy

NEW DELHI: Norway-based Telenor Group said it has adopted a six-month paid maternity leave policy as a minimum standard globally across its 13 markets, including India, where currently local rules require only three months of such leave.

The new policy will take effect from January 1, next year. Approximately 36% of Telenor’s global workforce of 33,000 people is women. The company said the move is in line with a corporate vision of encouraging diversity and developing more female leadership in business and society.

"The decision represents a major step forward in creating an equitable work-life balance for employees within the telecommunications industry," the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

In Telenor’s Asia operations, with the exception of Bangladesh, women employees are currently entitled to less than six months of funded maternity leave as per local regulations and personnel practices. As a result, the women may decide to leave the workforce to have children, and as the internal Telenor surveys reveal, some may not return, resulting in lost leadership opportunities and cost from staff turnover.