Facebook’s Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg announced in a news release that the tech company will put forth strong efforts to close the increasingly large economic divisions in Silicon Valley.
The company will give contractors, such as janitors and cooks, a minimum wage of $15 an hour, minimum 15 paid days off for holidays, sick time and vacation, and a $4,000 new child benefit for new parents who don’t receive paid parental leave. Sandberg said paid paternal leave will give both the men and women of the company more flexibility and time to build stronger families and healthier children.
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Some of the benefits outlined in the press release went into effect May 1st at the company’s Menlo Park headquarters and are now rolling out to other company locations to “include workers who do substantial work for Facebook and who are employed by companies based in the US with more than 25 employees supporting Facebook.”
“Taking these steps is the right thing to do for our business and our community,” said Sandberg in the news release. “Women, because they comprise about two-thirds of minimum wage workers nationally, are particularly affected by wage adjustments. Research also shows that providing adequate benefits contributes to a happier and ultimately more productive workforce.”