Family-friendly workplaces
Re-designing the workplace to be family-friendly.
Working conditions for parents and caregivers directly affect children's health, development and well-being. Family-friendly policies provide the time, income security, services and workplace support that families need to balance work and caregiving responsibilities. Evidence shows these policies improve child outcomes, advance gender equality and contribute to sustainable economic growth.
Since UNICEF's 2019 call to "redesign the future of the workplace," momentum behind family-friendly policies has accelerated. Governments and businesses are increasingly strengthening employment and income protection, expanding paid parental and family leave, offering flexible work arrangements, supporting breastfeeding and nutrition, and investing in affordable, quality childcare.
Family-friendly policies benefit everyone. They are linked to healthier and better-educated children, greater workforce participation by women, improved employee well-being, higher productivity, and stronger employee attraction and retention.
Yet access remains limited. An estimated 649 million women workers still lack adequate family-friendly workplace support, and many parents and caregivers—particularly those working in the informal economy—remain excluded from key protections and services.
To create lasting impact, governments and businesses must work together to ensure family-friendly policies are accessible, inclusive and effective for all families and caregivers.
Access article
Building Family-Friendly Workplaces: A Business Imperative
Launch of UNICEF’s Toolkit for Business on Building Family-Friendly Workplaces (March 2025)
In March 2025, UNICEF launched a global Toolkit for Business on Building Family-Friendly Workplaces to help companies across sectors strengthen family-friendly policies and practices. Designed for businesses of all sizes—from factories and farms to offices and service-based workplaces—the Toolkit provides practical guidance on implementing measures such as paid parental leave, flexible work arrangements, childcare support and breastfeeding-friendly workplaces.
To mark the launch, UNICEF convened business leaders, policymakers, industry associations and experts to discuss how to accelerate the adoption of family-friendly policies worldwide. The webinar introduces the Toolkit, shares practical implementation guidance and real-world business experiences, and explores opportunities for partnership and collective action to create workplaces where employees—and their children—can thrive.
Watch the webinar to learn how businesses can put family-friendly policies into practice and drive positive outcomes for families, workers and business performance.
