It’s pretty shocking: 40% of women who enter the engineering field leave by mid-career.
40%! That’s a BIG problem.
Today, we’re proud to tell you about a client of ours working for change. 
PAE, a West Coast engineering firm, just announced a generous paid “Wellness Leave” policy that provides up to 6 weeks of full salary for ANY employee welcoming a child through birth, adoption or foster placement or dealing with a serious health condition of their own or a loved one.
PAE hopes to lead the industry towards a culture shift that allows families more flexibility and financial stability and avoids forcing employees to make a choice between career and family. Further, they want to create a CULTURE OF WELLNESS that truly supports their employees.
This generous new policy is believed to be unique in the engineering industry in the United States and they hope it will inspire others.
Here’s the full press release (or read it here):
A Bold Move to Retain Women in STEM While Supporting Men to be Equal Caregivers: PAE Announces Generous Gender-Neutral Paid Leave Policy
PORTLAND, O.R., January 31, 2017/ — PAE, a West Coast engineering firm and a leader in sustainable engineering design, has announced a generous new paid leave policy believed to be unique in the engineering industry in the United States.
The newly offered “Wellness Leave” provides up to 6 weeks of full salary for any PAE employee welcoming a child through birth, adoption or foster placement or dealing with a serious health condition of their own or a loved one.
PAE’s Director of Employee Experience, Shiloh Butterworth, says, “We are proud to offer an equitable leave benefit to help sustain our employees at home and at work.” Butterworth believes that encouraging men to take caregiving leave equal to that taken by women will help level the playing field when it comes to women’s career advancement.
STEM careers have long had a problem with recruiting and retaining female talent. A recent study from the University of Wisconsin found that half of the women trained to be engineers leave the field. PAE hopes to lead the industry towards a culture shift that allows families more flexibility and financial stability and avoids forcing employees to make a choice between career and family.
The new paid Wellness Leave benefit rounds out an already generous leave package that includes flexible paid time off and paid sabbatical offerings, among others.
For more information on Wellness Leave, please visit http://www.pae-engineers.com/news.
Media contact: Shiloh Butterworth, Director of Employee Experience, email: shiloh.butterworth@pae-engineers.com, phone: 503.444.5440
About PAE
PAE is a triple bottom line company that has been in the engineering field for 50 years with a mission to help solve the planet’s energy and water challenges. They work with clients to design the nation’s highest performing built environments. The leadership at PAE prides itself on focusing on people and nature and is committed to recruiting and retaining talented engineering professionals of all gender identities and backgrounds to provide innovative engineering solutions that work.