Paid Family Leave Finds an Unlikely Ally: Investors

Better Life Lab is a partnership of Slate and New America. In 2017, Starbucks made headlines with its unequal paid family leave policy. Baristas got one set of benefits, and corporate staff got another. Within the benefits offered to baristas (those who "wear an apron"), moms who gave birth got six weeks of paid family leave. Starbucks, long known for its culture of empowering "partners" (as their employees are all called), received a barrage of frustrated employee feedback.