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Episode 96: Advocating for Paid Parental Leave in Your Workplace

March 6, 2024

Guest: Sherenne Simon, MPH, Social Impact Expert

Does your employer offer paid parental leave or are you struggling to find a game plan for how to care for your baby after NICU discharge while tending to your job responsibilities? Sherenne Simon, social impact expert, shares how she influenced major policy change in her workplace to accommodate NICU parents. Her book, Own Your Influence: An Unconventional Journey to Making an Impact at Work, hits shelves in November and can show you how to capitalize on your own power of influence to enact positive change.

In this episode, we chat about:

Advocating for health disparities, equity and maternal and infant health
The link between advocacy for both women and children
Benefits of paid parental leave, for the parent and the employer
Advice for parents who do not have access to robust parental leave
Narrowing the gap of health disparities and health equity for women, infants and children
Encouragement for parents who have limited leave but want to be as present for their baby as possible

About the guest

Sherenne Simon, MPH is a public health strategist and business advisor with 20+ years of expertise in maternal and child health, health system change, and organizational development. As the principal of Global Simon Group, her firm has worked with companies such as The Gates Foundation, USAID, and Tufts Black Maternal Health Center to advance social impact. Sherenne is the former Head of Health Equity at March of Dimes and a workplace pioneer and advocate for NICU-specific paid parental leave. Sherenne is mom to a son who was born premature, spent 100 days in the NICU, and is now joyful and thriving. She is also the author of an upcoming book, Own Your Influence: An Unconventional Journey to Making an Impact at Work, releasing in November.