The Parenthood Advantage

Building Corporate Cultures That Value Working Parents

What if parenthood wasn’t seen as a professional pause—but as a leadership accelerator?

The Parenthood Advantage challenges long-standing workplace assumptions, revealing how becoming a parent sharpens the very skills modern companies need most: resilience, empathy, focus, crisis management, prioritization, negotiation, and a long-view perspective.

Drawing from more than 200 interviews, contemporary research, and real corporate case studies, authors Mason Donovan and Mark Kaplan show how supporting working parents is not only the right thing to do—it is a smart business strategy.

Through powerful stories and actionable insights, the book invites leaders to reimagine working parents not as a liability, but as an untapped competitive advantage. It offers practical strategies for transforming parental leave, return-to-work support, management practices, and everyday workplace culture.

Whether you are an executive, HR leader, manager, working parent, or organizational changemaker, The Parenthood Advantage offers a new way to recognize and leverage the value parents bring to the workplace.

Parenthood is a leadership incubator, not a professional pause.

Buy on Amazon Barnes & Noble Bookshop.org

Buy the E-Book Bulk Orders

Praise for The Parenthood Advantage

“Impactful anecdotes, insightful case studies, and thorough research…a powerful resource. Each chapter provides reflective questions and thought-provoking conversation starters for business leaders and their employees.”

BookLife by Publishers Weekly

“Parenthood isn’t a barrier to leadership—it’s a catalyst. With data, stories, and actionable insights, this book proves why supported parents build stronger leaders and stronger organizations.”

Mary Delaney
CEO, Karbon

“This book is impactful—eye-opening research, relatable stories, and practical takeaways. It gave me pause to reflect on my own career experiences while also offering concrete recommendations for how companies can better support working parents.”

Svetlana Yedreshteyn
SVP, Talent Management

A New Way to Think About Working Parents

The qualities developed through parenthood are the same capabilities modern organizations need from their leaders.

For Organizational Leaders

Learn why valuing working parents improves retention, engagement, resilience, leadership development, and long-term organizational performance.

For Managers

Gain practical tools for supporting employees through parental leave, career transitions, changing priorities, and the return-to-work experience.

For Working Parents

Recognize and communicate the valuable leadership capabilities that parenthood develops, including empathy, adaptability, prioritization, and crisis management.

Conversations About The Parenthood Advantage

Hear Mason Donovan and Mark Kaplan discuss the research behind the book, the leadership capabilities developed through parenthood, and why corporate culture must evolve to better support working parents.

New Books Network

An in-depth conversation about reframing parenthood as a source of professional and organizational strength.

Listen to the Interview

NPR’s Shelley Irwin Show

Mason Donovan and Mark Kaplan discuss the book and the business case for valuing working parents.

Listen to the Interview

Bring The Parenthood Advantage to Your Organization

The authors are available for keynote conversations, facilitated book discussions, leadership programs, and workshops focused on creating workplaces where working parents are valued as leaders and contributors.