The Public Affairs Parental Leave Playbook: WiPA launches new guide to help employers better support working parents

Women in Public Affairs (WiPA) has launched its first Parental Leave Guide, bringing together practical recommendations and examples of best practice to help employers better support women before, during and after parental leave, while encouraging organisations across the profession to continue raising the bar on parental leave support.

The guide builds on findings from WiPA’s 2026 member survey, published earlier this year, which highlighted that parental leave remains one of the biggest concerns facing women working in public affairs. The research found that 53% of women say parental leave benefits are important when applying for a new role, 56% believe taking maternity leave negatively affects women’s career progression, and 77% say financial security is the most important aspect of parental leave policies.

Developed in collaboration with WiPA members, employers and the organisation’s Senior Advisory Committee, the guide moves the conversation from identifying the challenges to sharing practical solutions. It provides guidance for both employees preparing for parental leave and employers looking to create more supportive, inclusive workplaces.

Rather than calling for wholesale policy change, the guide focuses on practical actions organisations can take to improve women’s experiences throughout the parental leave journey.

Its ten recommendations are as follows:

1. Ensure maternity, parental leave and flexible working policies are easy to find and accessible to all employees and prospective employees.

2. Provide clear and transparent guidance on entitlements, timelines and available support throughout pregnancy, maternity leave and return-to-work planning, including Keeping in Touch (KIT) days.

3. Use straightforward and consistent language to help reduce uncertainty and confusion around policies and processes.

4. Agree a clear and supportive approach to communication before maternity leave begins, including awareness of KIT days, and the support available for unforeseen personal or family circumstances.

5. Review appraisal, promotion and pay progression processes to ensure employees are not disadvantaged because of time spent on leave.

6. Consider offering enhanced maternity pay, paternity leave and shared parental leave policies.

7. Provide returning employees with a structured re-induction and clarity on any changes to their role, team or organisation.

8. Offer phased returns and flexible working arrangements to help new parents balance work with new childcare responsibilities.

9. Foster a workplace culture that approaches returning from maternity leave with empathy, trust and understanding.

10. Consider implementing mandatory training for managers on parental leave and how they can create a supportive workplace culture.

The guide also showcases examples of good practice from across the public affairs profession, including case studies from FleishmanHillard, Grayling, Lexington, Incisive Health, VodafoneThree and Randall’s Monitoring. Together, they demonstrate how organisations of different sizes are strengthening parental leave support through enhanced policies, coaching programmes, flexible working and structured return-to-work support.

Janette Aquilina, Head of Campaigns at WiPA, said: “Earlier this year our survey showed that parental leave remains one of the biggest concerns facing women working in public affairs. We wanted to move beyond identifying the challenge and create a practical resource that helps drive change across the profession.

“Having a parental leave policy is no longer enough. Employers need to make sure those policies actually work in practice.

“Across the industry we’re already seeing some excellent examples of employers raising the bar. By bringing together those examples alongside practical recommendations, we hope to encourage more organisations to learn from one another in the support they provide to working parents.

“Parental leave isn’t just an HR policy, it’s a talent, leadership and retention issue. If we want to keep brilliant people in public affairs, we need to build workplaces where parents can thrive, not just return.”

The Parental Leave Guide is the third guide in WiPA’s workplace toolkit, following the Pay Negotiation Guide and Employer Guide. Together, the resources translate WiPA’s annual member research into practical recommendations that support women and help employers create more inclusive workplaces.

Sarah Russell MP, Chair of the APPG on Flexible and Family Friendly Working, who contributed a foreword to the guide, said: “This guide highlights the practical steps employers can take to better support working parents. I hope it encourages organisations across the public affairs sector to reflect on their own policies and continue building workplaces where parents can thrive.”

Download Parental Leave Guide here