The measure will apply to the more than 8700 employees of the multinational Company, which would like to contribute to improving people's work-life balance, also for retention purposes.

Where local legislative standards are more advantageous, the country's regulations will be applied. In Italy, for example, maternity leave is provided by law, while paternity leave will be extended from 10 days to 12 weeks.

"We are really proud to announce this new company policy that wants to enhance parenthood and reduce one of the main factors of the gender gap in the workplace, in line with our path in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion," says Floriana Notarangelo, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer of the Barilla Group.

The Global Parental Leave Policy is part of the Company's Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion path. The Company is very active in initiatives to promote equality and improve work-life balance.

According to the press release, 38 per cent of executives and managers in Barilla worldwide are women, and the Company eliminated the gender pay gap globally in 2020.

This corporate initiative confirms the centrality of policies to protect parenting, which is increasingly demanded by employees and the subject of company agreements to improve their well-being and loyalty.

The previous agreements we examined of Sodexo, Hanmi Global, Veolia, Axa, and Bitpanda are concrete examples of this trend.