Revolutionizing access to paid leave: The birth of PaidLeave.ai

Mansi Kothari

Dec 5, 2023

In a world where the balancing act between career and family often feels like a tightrope walk, Reshma Saujani, founder of Girls Who Code and Moms First is creating tangible solutions. In a recent launch episode for The False Tradeoff, Saujani unveiled a practical yet groundbreaking innovation from her team at Moms Firsts: PaidLeave.ai. This AI-powered solution streamlines the application process for paid family leave in New York State – and it has big ambitions to continue to leverage AI to transform the public sector.

Episode 06

The False Tradeoff

Your right to paid leave, simplified with AI

Listen to the episode

Moms First is on a mission to expand access to paid family leave and affordable child care everywhere, by partnering with private and public institutions.

Why? Because “so many moms today are having to pick between quite frequently taking care of their children and going to work, which is unconscionable.” The U.S. is the only industrialized nation without access to federally mandated paid family leave.

How does paidleave.ai fit in? We sat down with Saujani, who outlined a three-part plan for how paidleave.ai can revolutionize access to paid leave and ultimately support more women in the workforce.

1. Launch PaidLeave.ai in New York State

Currently, there are 13 states in the U.S. that offer paid parental leave, but Saujani chose to launch PaidLeave.ai in her home state of New York in order to test and learn before expanding further. PaidLeave.ai utilizes generative AI to ease the burden of applying for and accessing paid leave, increasing their economic stability. It’s a simple and user-friendly tool that demystifies the bureaucratic complexity of leave management and guides users through the filing process so that they can maximize their time off.

2. Expand to more states – then go federal

Saujani is already in talks with governors of other states that offer paid leave to geographically expand her technology in the future. She believes that soon, even parents in states that don’t have paid leave yet will say, “Wait, what about me? I want this too,” and they will reach out to their legislators for better support. Saujani’s vision is that PaidLeave.ai will eventually become a catalyst for change by building a movement of parent advocates who will generate the future passage of federal paid leave.

3. Leverage technology for public good

By harnessing the power of technology, Saujani and her team are paving the way for a future where access to essential benefits is no longer a privilege but a fundamental right. The implications extend beyond paid leave, and PaidLeave.ai can serve as a blueprint for other public sector challenges. There are so many benefits that families are entitled to but are made too difficult for them to access. In Saujani’s path forward, generative AI could help them take advantage of child tax credit, pre-K seats, and beyond.

At its core, PaidLeave.ai represents a triumph of innovation and empathy—a testament to the power of technology to uplift and empower communities. As Saujani eloquently articulates, the true measure of success lies not in accolades but in the tangible impact on people's lives.

To celebrate all we’ve accomplished, our team shared what they’re most proud of since joining the team:

I'm most proud of how much we have done to improve the single hardest moment for women's careers (going on parental leave) ... one that is often shrouded in insecurity and fear. We've been able to help advocate for so many women (and men!) in a way that is empowering and truly life-changing.

Allison Whalen, CEO & Founder

What am I most proud of? Growth! Growing a category of support that didn't exist before Parentaly. Growing from a one-woman bootstrapped operation to a global team of 25+ employees and coaches. Growing our overall impact for working parents, with companies investing in our parental leave programming to support employees all over the world. And growing as humans: new babies, new friends, new life experiences... all while tackling new and exciting work challenges together.

Rich Burke, Head of Growth

When I reflect on what I am personally most proud of during my time here, it's working alongside a team where we constantly evolve and optimize everything that we do in order to deliver the best possible experience for the folks going through our programs. It sounds cheesy, but there are processes that my team and I used to do 100% manually that are now completely automated and systems in place that have become second nature to how we operate. Working with such thoughtful, smart, and creative people is incredible.

Sara Ophoff, Senior Program Manager

I’m most proud about doing work that makes parents feel confident and empowered about their careers during a time that can be overwhelming and challenging – not only for our clients and users who go through Parentaly’s programs, but also with our advocacy work on LinkedIn, through our podcast and other big campaigns that make a difference. It’s been pretty rewarding to build a brand people know and love because what we’re doing resonates with so many employees’ experiences in the workforce.

Jenna Vassallo, Head of Brand & Marketing

I am so proud of the way we've approached growth with such care and intentionality - with every adjustment we've made to our offerings, we've never lost sight of our goal to provide the most supportive and valuable experience for our users. I love looking back on the early stages of conversations and building that have led us to the experience we offer today. Personally, I am extremely proud of the work I've done to scale and automate our backend!

Rachel Andes, Program Associate

I am most proud of the work we do every single day to make a positive impact on working parents! Everyday I get to work with an amazing group of people…we work hard but we also have fun.

‍Sarah Gruber, Client Partner

I'm proud of scaling an employee experience that consistently delivers positive outcomes for new parents and their organizations. Our north star has always been the user, and we never sacrifice our high quality bar!

Mansi Kothari, VP of Product & Experience

I feel a sense of pride that I get to work behind the scenes supporting everyone. I’m proud to see all of the collaboration between the team and how Parentaly positively impacts employees.

Leo Manalo, Executive Assistant

I'm most proud of going through the Parentaly program myself! I'm so proud to work for and promote this company in a time where parental leave and supportive policies are at the forefront of a national conversation. But beyond this, I'm most proud to call myself a participant.

Emmy Carragher, Enterprise Partnerships

I’m really proud of the work I did to expand our coaching bench globally at Parentaly. It was so rewarding, not to mention insightful, to connect with talented coaches from around the globe. This expansion not only enriched our coaching offerings but also strengthened our commitment to making a meaningful impact on families all over the world.

‍Nicole Hagemann-Bex, Senior Coaching Operations Manager

I have tremendous pride in the knowledge that what I am doing will change the career landscape for new parents, particularly mothers. This will make it more likely that my daughter can have a career AND a family without worrying about the unintentional negative impact of taking parental leave. Nothing makes me prouder than that.

Mindy Himmel-Brown, Strategic Partnerships

In my short time at Parentaly, I'm proudest of the work we're doing with our clients' ERG groups to elevate the stories and advice of actual working parents. It's such an impactful way to spread the word about Parentaly as an essential resource for all people growing their families, and the managers who support them!

Alex Diskin, Enterprise Account Manager

I'm most proud about using LinkedIn to connect with others. I was recently able to share a helpful return to work doc with 50+ new people looking to make a difference at their company. Was pretty cool that people from Chewy, McDonald's, Honda, Cisco, AWS, Walmart and more want to integrate just a piece of what we have to offer. Also...I'm so proud of the way I feel as an employee at Parentaly. For the first time in my career my personal interests align with my professional interests and I've never felt more motivated.

Jenny Hurwitz, Strategic Partnerships

I'm really proud of being able to help the Experience team by handling the supportive functions so they can focus on the bigger picture. It feels great to know that I’m making things easier for them and contributing to the team’s success.

James Mango, Executive Assistant

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