AMEINAH ALZEYOUDI (ABU DHABI)

The early years of a child’s life — from birth to the age of eight — shape who they become and how they thrive, making steady, loving parental presence essential.

Since its launch in 2021, Abu Dhabi’s acclaimed Parent-Friendly Label (PFL) programme has been built on that understanding, encouraging workplaces to create cultures and policies that genuinely support families.

Now in its fourth cycle, this programme of the Early Childhood Authority (ECA) opened another round of applications earlier this month. It will accept submissions until July 31.

Fatmah Rashed Alkaabi, Acting Advisor at the Director General’s Office at ECA, emphasised that the programme was developed in response to changing social and economic realities, including parents’ growing participation in the economy and shifting family dynamics.

“The ability of parents to thrive at work directly impacts children’s wellbeing, development, and family stability,” Alkaabi told Aletihad. The programme encourages organisations to recognise this connection, supporting them to adopt flexible work arrangements, enhanced parental leave, and inclusive workplace cultures that go beyond the minimum legal requirements.

“A core objective of the programme is to reduce parental stress and improve work-family balance, enabling parents to be more emotionally present and responsive during the critical early years of a child’s life,” Alkaabi said. 

Through flexible, family-focused workplace policies, the PFL helps ensure parents have the time, energy, and support to nurture their children during their formative years, she added. 

The latest cycle introduces a pilot phase for PFL's expansion to government organisations, in collaboration with the Ministry of Family, as the UAE marks the Year of Family. Teams from the ECA and the ministry will work with local and federal government entities to refine the programme’s framework and expand its impact across all sectors.

PFL Cycle 4  widens the programme’s reach across a broader range of sectors and further encourage global organisations operating in the UAE to implement its policies across international offices. Strong emphasis will be placed on policy innovation, including flexible work, childcare benefits, and family support funds, strengthening the UAE’s position as a leading global destination for parent-friendly workplaces by 2030.

Long-Term Mission

The PFL project aligns with the ECA’s long-term plan to promote holistic early childhood development through a system-level approach, Alkaabi said. 

“As an enabler, ECA builds the capacity of employers to better support working parents; as a policymaker, it translates evidence into coordinated workplace standards; as a knowledge hub, it uses data and employee feedback to inform continuous improvement; and as a disruptor, it reshapes how workplaces perceive their role in supporting families and children,” she said. 

The ECA seeks to normalise parent-friendly policies — from flexibility to adequate parental leave — as a common business practice by collaborating closely with employers in a variety of industries.

The programme takes a whole-system approach, with children at the centre, Alkaabi said. “However, meaningful impact is achieved by supporting the parents who care for them and the organisations that shape parent’s daily lived experience.”

Previous cycles have delivered measurable impact. Over 311,000 employees in the UAE — and more than one million globally — have benefitted from parent-supportive policies, according to ECA’s report, “Thriving Through Talent: How parent-friendly policies drive balance, growth, and global competitiveness.”

Notably, 71% of working parents reported better work-life balance, while 82% of mothers and 74% of fathers felt encouraged to take full parental leave. 

Under the programme, organisations are assessed across five categories Parental Leave, Flexible Work, Family Care, Family Wellbeing, and Culture. Organisations meeting local criteria earn the Parent-Friendly Label, while those meeting or exceeding global standards receive the Parent-Friendly Label+ (PFL+).

With Cycle 4, the ECA invites organisations to showcase their parent- and family-supportive policies, in line with the objectives of the Year of the Family 2026 and the We the UAE 2031 vision.