Negotiate for that benefit. I don&#x27;t control what benefits my employer provides to my colleagues.<p>I have a colleague who got a sabbatical that wasn&#x27;t tied to family leave. This is with a mainstream industrial company, and he was a mid level engineer.<p>I&#x27;ve noticed something at my workplace. Granted, I don&#x27;t know what it&#x27;s like in Silicon Valley, but I work for a fairly large employer in the Midwest. There are certain jobs like Project Manager, that are just grueling -- thankless, boring, stressful, with the potential for long hours. Without exception, the people with those jobs, are parents of kids. I&#x27;ve seen more than one engineer, including myself, apply for one of those jobs upon the birth of a kid. A single colleague was complaining to me about the lack of advancement, and I suggested that he should become a Project Manager. He said: &quot;Are you kidding? I like my evenings and weekends.&quot;<p>People without kids often leave the company in pursuit of jobs that are more fun or risky.<p>There&#x27;s a chance that without various family benefits (health insurance is probably the biggie), parents of kids would compete aggressively for jobs with higher pay and better benefits. So the imbalance would materialize anyway.<p>As for benefits that the employer is required to provide, lobby for them. Vote. Parents are a significant political force. We vote. But in addition, there has historically been a policy argument for encouraging relatively affluent people to have kids. Today&#x27;s kids are the people who will pay for your retirement, through payroll taxes and working for the companies that comprise your 401(k).