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Netflix Under Fire from Women's Group for Leaving Hourly Workers Out of Parental Leave Policy

Pressure is mounting on Netflix this week for leaving hourly workers out of their new parental leave policy. Women's advocacy group, UltraViolet has been pressuring Netflix's leadership to correct course after a closer look at its unlimited parental leave policy exposed that only employees making as much as $300,000 would get to benefit from the policy--not the lower-paid employees who need parental leave the most.

WASHINGTON

Pressure is mounting on Netflix this week for leaving hourly workers out of their new parental leave policy. Women's advocacy group, UltraViolet has been pressuring Netflix's leadership to correct course after a closer look at its unlimited parental leave policy exposed that only employees making as much as $300,000 would get to benefit from the policy--not the lower-paid employees who need parental leave the most.

"Netflix is leaving workers who could benefit the most from a generous paid leave policy behind and that is offensive, said Nita Chaudhary, co-founder of UltraViolet. "With childcare costs skyrocketing nationwide, hourly workers at Netflix need parental leave more urgently than ever. Two thirds of minimum wage earners are women. For that reason, women are watching Netflix right now to see if they do the right thing. We urge them to support all of the many working moms and dads who contribute to their success."

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In recent months, the lack of family leave policies in the workplace has erupted in the media as a major political issue. With big name companies like Netflix and Facebook announcing generous family-friendly packages and major 2016 presidential candidates giving a huge platform to paid leave, the shortage of workplace policies that allow all women and mothers to work has become a huge rallying issue.

More than 46,000 UV members have demanded Netflix give its hourly workers the same "unlimited" parental leave benefits that workers who make $300,000 receive. View the petition here: https://act.weareultraviolet.org/sign/netflix_leave/.

For interviews with UltraViolet please contact Andrea Alford at 703-477-1075 or andrea@fitzgibbonmedia.com or Molly Haigh at 907-750-1999 or molly@fitzgibbonmedia.com.

UltraViolet is a powerful and rapidly growing community of people mobilized to fight sexism and create a more inclusive world that accurately represents all women, from politics and government to media and pop culture.