Twitter CEO challenges Silicon Valley norms by taking paternity leave
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Parag Agrawal. Photo: Courtesy of Twitter
Twitter's new CEO Parag Agrawal will soon take "a few weeks" of paternity leave, in a sign of Silicon Valley's evolving norms around parental leave, a Twitter spokesperson said in a statement.
Why it matters: While Agrawal's time away will be significantly shorter than the 20 weeks of parental leave that Twitter allots to employees, many workplace cultures have not yet normalized paternity leave.
What they're saying: “At Twitter, we encourage and fully support employees taking parental leave in whatever way works best for each person," the statement read.
- "It’s a personal decision and we created a parental leave program (supporting up to 20 weeks of flexible leave) that is customizable for that reason," it added.
- "Parag and his wife are expecting another child soon and they’re excited about the new addition to their family. Parag will be taking a few weeks to be with family when the baby is born."
State of play: Agrawal announced his decision to take paternity leave at an all-hands meeting last week, but has not yet named an interim CEO, per the Washington Post, which first reported news of the leave.
- "He plans on being connected with the executive team throughout, which is what works best for him, his wife, and the company," per the statement.
The big picture: Agrawal isn't the first CEO of a major tech company to take paternity leave. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg previously took paternity leave in 2015 and 2017.
Catch up quick: Agrawal took on the job in November following Jack Dorsey's resignation, and was previously the company's longtime chief technology officer.
Editor's note: This post has been updated with a statement from Twitter.
