Mattel CPO on Legacy Child Care Center: It Helps Employees ‘Thrive’

When you’re one of the world’s biggest toy manufacturers — the maker of Barbie, Hot Wheels, American Girl, and dozens of other brands and products — it only makes sense that you’d focus on child care benefits for your own employees.

Back in 1994, Mattel opened an onsite child care center — called the Mattel Child Development Center — on its corporate campus in El Segundo, Calif., available for Mattel employees and their families, providing care for infant children up to 5 years old.

Thirty years later, the center — managed by Newton, Mass.-based child care provider Bright Horizons — is going strong and has been a boon to employee engagement and well-being, not to mention a help to attraction and retention efforts, said Karen Ancira, executive vice president and chief people officer at Mattel.

“Mattel early on recognized the many benefits of onsite child care as part of our commitment to investing in employee well-being and supporting the needs of our parent workforce,” she said. “By providing convenient, reliable child care on campus, this invaluable resource addresses the needs of our employees and also fosters a culture that encourages connection and collaboration, essential for a creative company.”  

In a recent parent survey, 100% of Mattel’s center parents reported that having the center onsite helped reduce stress in managing personal and professional demands. Additionally, 91% said that they were satisfied with the skills and knowledge that their child receives at the center and believe that these skills will help them succeed in school and life.

“It provides essential support for parents and caregivers on the HQ campus,” Ancira said.

The center accepts applications from full-time employees at Mattel, as well as contractors and temporary staff (approximately 2,000 eligible employees) — an accessibility that “plays a crucial role in maintaining a supportive environment for employees and their families,” Ancira said. Tuition varies by age group and schedules but tends to be 10%-30% below the market tuition in the community, according to Bright Horizons.

Forty-eight families currently use the benefit, with enrollments expected to increase this year, Ancira noted. 

A Trend to Watch

While some companies, including Mattel, offer child care benefits to support working parents in their organization, it’s not common. According to SHRM’s 2024 Employee Benefits Survey, just 3% offer a subsidized child care center or program, and 2% offer a nonsubsidized child care center (company-affiliated onsite or near-site center).

“While onsite child care remains a relatively rare benefit, its implementation is [quickly] growing,” said Sadie Funk, national director of The Best Place for Working Parents, a Fort Worth, Texas-based organization that recognizes employers that support working parents. 

Other child care benefits are more common. For instance, SHRM’s 2024 Employee Benefits Survey found that 58% of organizations offer a dependent care flexible spending account and 12% offer a child care referral service that provides employees with the names of child care providers. 

Interest in child care benefits grew after the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated child care gaps and resulted in more workers looking for employer support, experts said. Millions of working mothers left their jobs as a result of family and child care responsibilities.

“The pandemic really set these needs on a new trajectory, and employers then were forced to recognize that this is now a workforce issue that we have, and we need to keep this at the forefront,” Megan Schulte, vice president of human resources at herbs and spices company Frontier Co-op, told SHRM last year. “And it also opened up workers to discuss this with their employers.” Frontier Co-op also has a child care center at its headquarters in Norway, Iowa.

Helping Employers, Too

Slower adoption of child care benefits may be due to organizations’ financial concerns: A recent survey of Fortune 500 HR leaders by KinderCare, for instance, found that most senior HR leaders (78%) report difficulty convincing the C-suite of the long-term return on investment, largely due to a lack of clarity about employee needs and budget constraints. 

But employers that offer such benefits point to a big boon — not just as help for their employees, but for the organization at large. Industry experts point to employer child care programs as a key contributor to retention, attraction, and employee satisfaction.

“Child care is no longer a perk, but a necessity for the success of both employees and businesses,” Funk said. “When businesses provide child care for employees, employee absences decrease and job turnover declines.” 

Businesses that offer onsite child care for employees experience a 7.4 times higher retention rate and 8.9 times more loyal employees, according to The Best Place for Working Parents. The KinderCare survey found that most Fortune 500 HR leaders say child care benefits help attract talent to their organizations (86%); reduce employee turnover (85%); improve employee mental health (83%); and enable employees to excel professionally (82%).

Ancira said “there is a tangible, positive impact” that comes out of Mattel’s family-friendly benefits, like its child care center.  

“It provides the opportunity for employees to focus on their goals, build connections, and be inspired by the work we do, while enrolling their children in quality onsite child care,” Ancira said. “Cultivating a workplace culture that highlights and supports the needs of our working parents is one of the strongest demonstrations we can make of our commitment to champion well-being and work/life flexibility at Mattel, helping our people and their families thrive.”

Frontier’s Schulte also pointed to the positive impact its child care benefits have had on the business. “It’s been really, really good for us from a recruiting standpoint, and a great advantage to have for any working parents,” Schulte said.