Here Are Some Companies With the Best Paid Parental Leave Policies

— -- intro: Although the U.S. remains the only industrialized nation without mandated paid parental leave, companies like Twitter are filling the void with some of the nation's most competitive employee benefits.

This week, Twitter announced that it's offering 20 weeks of paid leave to any U.S. full-time employee who's a new parent starting May 1. The company previously offered 20 weeks of paid leave only to birth mothers and only 10 weeks of paid leave to fathers and parents who adopt. The company said the new policy will be available to global employees no later than July 1.

Ellen Bravo, executive director of Family Values @ Work, a national network advocating for family-friendly workplace policies, applauded the news.

“It’s terrific that Twitter is implementing an expansive, gender-neutral paid parental leave policy to its employees," Bravo said in a statement. "Like many companies, Twitter until now has offered much less time to fathers or adoptive parents. Providing 20 weeks of paid leave to all parents not only allows them to spend time with new additions to their families, but also makes a strong statement that fathers and adoptive parents are primary caregivers as well.

Here are other companies with some of the most competitive policies, in no particular order:

quicklist:title: Amazoncategory: 20 weeks text: New moms at Amazon receive up to 20 weeks while new parents (such as dads or an employee who adopted a child) who have been with the company for over a year are eligible for six weeks.

quicklist:title: Spotifycategory: 24 weekstext: All full-time Spotify employees receive up to six months of fully-paid parental leave which can be taken up until their child's third birthday.

The company also offers a one month ‘Welcome Back!’ program with the ability to work from home, on a part time schedule and with flexible hours.

quicklist:title: Etsycategory: 26 weekstext: Starting this month, Etsy employees who are new parents are eligible for 26 weeks of fully paid leave, whether after birth or adoption.

"All parents at Etsy can take their 26 weeks of leave over the two years following the birth or adoption of their child. At least eight of those weeks must be taken continuously in the first six months," Juliet Gorman, Etsy's director of culture and engagement wrote in a blog post last month.

quicklist:title: Facebookcategory: 16 weekstext: Facebook announced in November that it extended parental leave of four months for all new parents, no matter their gender or where they live, up to a year after the baby is born.

quicklist: title: Googlecategory: 18 weekstext: New moms at Google get 18 weeks of paid leave. Primary caregivers, regardless of gender, can receive up to 12 weeks of paid baby-bonding leave during the first year of the child's life. New parents can also receive $500 in "baby bonding bucks."

quicklist:title: Microsoft category: 12 to 20 weeks text: In August, Microsoft announced that the company is offering 12 weeks of paid parental leave for all new parents. Birth mothers who already receive eight weeks of maternity disability could then take 20 weeks of fully paid leave if they choose.

quicklist:title: Netflixcategory: unlimited text: Netflix introduced in August an “unlimited” leave policy for new moms and dads to take as much time as they want – with pay - during the first year after a child's birth or adoption. The new policy applies to all full-time, salaried employees across all countries, the company said.

title:Patagoniacategory: 8 weeks+text: Dads get eight paid weeks and full-time employees can reportedly drop off their kids until age 9 at the company's child care centers.