BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL) improves parental leave for all employees. Improving work/life balance boosts performance at the utility.

USAID’s Engendering Utilities program supported BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL)—an Indian energy utility—to develop and roll-out a paternity leave policy; the first of its kind for the company. Research shows that parental leave benefits help companies attract and retain talent, improve retention, increase employee productivity, and promote diversity and inclusion; factors known to improve business performance. Parental leave is the right for employees, both women and men, to take paid or unpaid leave from an organization to care for children or other dependents, while continuing to maintain their employment status. A recent study by Promundo found that women conduct as much as six times the amount of unpaid work that men do, and that providing equal parental leave benefits can help equalize the care burden as fathers spend more time at home with their children.