Does the Trump Organization Actually Offer Parental Leave?

Fact-checking whether Trump is good for working moms

Yes I will actually take a break from politics, I swear, BUT FIRST …

Chelsea Clinton is slated to speak at the DNC tonight and introduce her mom, history-making Democratic Party nominee Hillary Rodham Clinton, so the media is reminiscing about and comparing her to Ivanka Trump, who spoke at the RNC last week and introduced her dad, potentially-history-ending Republican Party nominee, Donald J. Trump.

“As president, my father will change the labor laws that were put in place at a time when women were not a significant portion of the workforce and he will focus on making quality childcare affordable and accessible for all,” Ivanka said.

Chelsea bluntly weighed in when asked about those remarks during a Facebook live event with Glamour magazine.

“How would your father do that given it’s not something he’s spoken about, there are no policies on any of those fronts that you just mentioned on his website,” Chelsea said.

Ivanka also said, “At my father’s company, there are more female than male executives. Women are paid equally for the work that we do and when a woman becomes a mother, she is supported, not shut out.”

I thought that was kind of great! Ivanka herself is a mother of three. This March, after she gave birth, she told Business Insider:

Trump says her company offers eight weeks of paid time off for new mothers.

“I think parental leave is enormously important — and it’s a personal decision,” she told Business Insider. “Part of building a company whose goal is to empower women in all aspects of life is that I’ve given my team some leeway to determine what parental leave looks like for each of them individually.”

That sounds … a little less great, but potentially great? Not sure “leeway” is useful in parental leave situations, unless it’s the kind of leeway that means an employee gets to choose whether to take eight weeks, paid, or twelve, partly unpaid. Because though how much to take may be a personal decision, the fact is that childbirth — which can kill you, and sometimes still does! — is a serious health event that requires actual recovery time.

Chelsea, who is also a working mom in Manhattan, is likely to make some of the same points and highlight some of the same feminist themes. She’s currently Vice Chair of her family’s international Foundation, so I wondered, Does the Foundation offer their employees paid parental leave? According to the employer review site Glassdoor, yes, they do. One employee gives the benefits package for moms & dads five stars and writes, “Fantastic policies — even paternity leave offered.”

That’s good! What about Trump’s various businesses? Glassdoor provides some insights.

Benefits at the Trump National Golf Club are rated 1.7 stars out of 5.

No indication that it offers parental leave.

The Trump International Hotel does much better, star-wise (4.6 out of 5) but still, there’s no indication that it offers parental leave.

And though the webpage for Trump Hotels lists a whole host of “Exceptional Benefits” that includes discounted parking, free golf, and a health fair, parental leave is not listed among them.

Trump Resorts, hilariously, begins its Glassdoor self-summary by asking prospective employees, “Like craps?” Only 33% of employees would recommend working there to a friend. This is the featured review:

No indication as to whether Trump Resorts offers paid parental leave, though I did find its official website, which boasts “FREE uniforms” and “FREE on-site employee parking.”

Its Benefits page is super enthusiastic about the free parking too. But the closest it comes to mentioning parental leave is listing PTO, which could just mean vacation.

What about the Trump Organization itself, for which Ivanka works and for whom she said she got eight weeks of paid leave? Surely that business makes clear that it values working women and parents in general the way Ivanka insists it does? Again, no indication on Glassdoor or on Indeed. There’s no indication that it offers paid parental leave on its website, either.

I’ve reached out to a Trump Org press person and will report on my findings when I hear back!

ETA: lol, I reached out to press@trumporg.com and got a reply from Hope Hicks! THE Hope Hicks! Did she answer my questions? She did not! But now I’m fascinated and really want to know why the campaign’s press secretary is responding to emails sent to the generic anonymo-mailbox of the Trump Organization. And also, yes, whether the Org gives employees paid leave.

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