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Startup Company Domo Giving Pregnant Employees $2,000 For Maternity Clothes

By Lindsay McCane
Published on: 02:55 PST, Nov 4, 2015

Maternity clothes are not cheap, and it can be a financial strain on some women to find clothing that fits their growing baby bumps. That is why the Utah-based startup company, Domo, is offering their pregnant employees $2,000 to spend on a brand new wardrobe.

According to Fortune, in addition to providing their expectant mothers with parental leave and a $1,000 baby bonus, the company also gives their pregnant employees a shopping spree, called the “Haute Mama” bonus, worth $2,000 to Nordstrom, A Pea In the Pod, and online retailer Asos to buy maternity clothes. If the woman does not like any of those stores, the company will make arrangements for them to receive gift certificates to different stores.

Domo, which is a business data company based in American Fork, Utah, started offering the the bonus about a year ago after Domo’s founder and CEO Josh James’ assistant became pregnant. Cathy Donahoe, Domo’s vice president of human resources, said James quickly learned the challenges that pregnant women face in the workplace.

“When my assistant got pregnant about a year and a half ago, I saw the challenge she had finding maternity clothes that were professional and that made her feel great,” James told People Magazine.

“I’ve always believed that if you look good, you feel good, and if you feel good, you play good. We want our expectant employees to be able to treat themselves, and buy clothes that make them feel great.”

“He said, ‘Hey, this is a benefit that I want to add,’ ” said Donahoe.

“It can be a very challenging time (for women),” Donahoe added. “The goal is to help them feel good, to be able to go, ‘It’s not one more thing I have to worry about.’ ”

Domo’s parental leave package provides mothers with one month leave at full pay and six weeks of leave at 66 percent pay, which is covered by short-term disability. New dads also receive a perk, with two weeks leave at full pay.

James explained that Domo is a fairly new company, which turns five in December, and right now they can’t afford to provide the same caliber parental packages as some companies. However, he said he hoped the shopping spree helped make the deal a bit more appealing for new parents. The “Haute Mama” bonus isn’t a one time deal, either. If the employee was to become pregnant a second or third time, they would once again receive the $2,000 bonus because “clothes go out of style, things change,” Donahoe said.

Donahoe also explained that the maternity benefit also recognizes the company’s demography and “what matters to the majority of our employees.” She said the company has more than 600 employees, with the average employee being 34-years-old, and Domo has an average of three children per employee.

James said the bonus is just one more way to show his employees how much he values their contributions to the company.

“We want to remind them just how much we appreciate the work they do for Domo,” he said.

“Pregnancy is an awkward time for your body. You’re doing this wonderful and amazing thing while going through so many changes … the image of what you have in your head is not reflected in the mirror,” Erica Bartsch, a Domo employee and mother of two children, ages 2 and 6 weeks, said. “The benefit made me confident about what I was putting on.”

Since the benefit was created last year, six employees have taken advantage of it, and Donahoe said the response has been amazing.

“Fantastic,” Donahoe said. “They just love it.”

What do you think about Domo offering their expectant employees money to buy maternity clothes? Leave your comments below.

[Photo via Shutterstock]

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