The executive lens on parental leave and talent retention

Jenna Vassallo

Feb 26, 2026

Parental leave is often treated as a benefit. A policy. A compliance requirement. A line item in total rewards.

After serving as CHRO at Xerox and operating in high-stakes executive environments, she believes parental leave is a defining leadership moment - one that reveals how seriously a company takes its culture, talent strategy and long-term performance.

Her perspective is shaped not just by boardrooms and executive meetings, but by her own experience becoming a parent while navigating one of the most intense periods of her career.

She recently joined Parentaly’s CHRO Advisory Board, and we invited her onto our podcast to share her perspective on parental leave, as both a mother and an HR leader.

Here are three takeaways from our conversation:

The False Tradeoff Episode 36: The “mental gymnastics” of parental leave with Suzan Morno-Wade

Episode 46

The False Tradeoff

The “mental gymnastics” of parental leave with Suzan Morno-Wade

Listen now

1. The “mental gymnastics” of parental leave don’t disappear with seniority

When Suzan became a parent, she was already a tenured leader. And still, she wrestled with doubt.

Her journey to parenthood required medical intervention. At the same time, she was navigating a demanding professional chapter that required constant accountability.

By the time parental leave entered the conversation, the pressure was layered.

She described having “significant fear” about stepping away. What would it mean for her reputation? Her role? Would it be diminished or even “evaporated or given to someone else?”

Those internal negotiations are what she calls the “mental gymnastics” of parental leave.

“They are mental gymnastics that cause tremendous stress and can impact your performance, your perception of the organization, of your manager.”

That tension shows up at every level of an organization. From Suzan’s perspective, it connects directly to retention and to “changing the curve of number of women who are leaving the workplace.”

2. Parental leave is a moment of truth for culture

Parental leave forces alignment between what companies say and what employees experience.

Are policies and benefits clear?
Is work coverage intentionally planned?
Are managers prepared to lead through leave?

When parental leave is handled well, it reinforces trust and credibility. When handled poorly, it creates quiet doubt that lingers long after the leave period ends.

This is why Suzan calls parental leave a moment of truth:

“It’s about when your culture, your values align or collide with your policies, your actions and who you are as an organization.”

3. Leaders plan for financial risk…but they should plan for talent risk, too

Suzan points out that organizations already plan extensively for financial risk, cybersecurity and operational disruption.

Yet when it comes to parental leave - a highly predictable event - planning is often reactive.

“When it comes to people who are the engine that drive performance in the company, we vacillate on some things and more important than others when to me, this is like a critical aspect of thinking about business performance.”

Her point is simple: if you are not proactively planning for parental leave transitions, you are leaving a predictable talent risk unmanaged.

From her executive lens, parental leave planning belongs in the same strategic conversations as other drivers of business performance.

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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HR & policy

CHRO

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