A study by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation found that “more than half of millennials (56%) agreed that a quality benefits package influences their choice of employers and 63% say that benefits are an important reason in staying with an employer.”

Even as the U.S. continues to trail behind virtually all other major industrialized nations in its maternity leave offerings, paternity leave is becoming increasingly popular among employers and employees stateside. In 2016 there had been several high profile examples of big steps forward on paternity leave offerings.

When an employee takes a “leave of absence," this time away from work can take many forms depending on the situation. From the Family & Medical Leave to Short Term Disability to jury duty to bereavement to military leave, these various policies and structures do share the common purpose of allowing an employee to take time away from work above and beyond vacation time or sick days, while also protecting the employer from potential abuses of these leave requests.

Although the chances of this Congress successfully passing a bill on paid parental leave are tepid at best (even among supporters of such a measure), one thing is clear, awareness is building on the topic—from the State of the Union address to its own twitter handle #LeadOnLeave.

Ever since the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was passed in 1993, the 12 weeks of protected leave offered immediately following childbirth have become nearly synonymous with the concept of parental, typically maternity, leave itself.