Santander to Set Minimum Maternity Leave Across All Businesses

(Bloomberg) -- Banco Santander SA said it will set a minimum standard for parental leave across all of its markets as Spain’s biggest lender creates conditions to help more women take on senior roles.

Employees will get a minimum of 14 weeks paid leave for mothers and four weeks for the other parent across its global divisions, the bank said in an emailed statement. In practice that means an increase in the maternity leave currently offered by the bank in three markets for the primary parent and in six for the other parent.

Santander has set a target of increasing the number of women in senior roles to 30% by 2025 from 23% last year. The minimum standards will be implemented globally over a three-year period depending on the markets, Santander said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Charlie Devereux in Madrid at cdevereux3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Dale Crofts at dcrofts@bloomberg.net, Charles Penty, Ross Larsen

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