News

Sergey Shishkarev Presents Best Practices and Business Proposals in Corporate Demographics at Presidential Council Meeting

Sergey Shishkarev, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Delo Group, presented the results of the Group’s programme to increase birth rates and support motherhood and childhood at a meeting of the Presidential Council for the Implementation of State Demographic and Family Policy. He also put forward proposals for the further development of corporate practices in this area.

The meeting, held ahead of International Children’s Day, was chaired at the Kremlin by Valentina Matvienko, Chairwoman of the Federation Council and head of the Council. Since September 2025, Sergey Shishkarev has led the Council’s working group on corporate fertility support practices.

Since the launch of Delo Group’s comprehensive demographic programme, 900 children have been born to employees. Many employees have chosen to have their first child, while the number of second-child births has also increased significantly. Since 2026, the company has been providing family vehicles to employees upon the birth of a fourth child.

One of the key initiatives developed by the Council’s working group is the “gold standard” of corporate demographics — a set of seven core measures intended to serve as a benchmark for socially responsible businesses and a new standard of support for employees’ families. These measures include a corporate family capital payment of 1 million rubles, reimbursement of at least 50% of voluntary health insurance costs for children in large families, additional paid leave upon the birth of a child and on the first day of school for parents of first-graders, family-oriented working arrangements, support for childcare, upbringing and education, initiatives aimed at preserving and strengthening traditional family values, and the use of large-family imagery in commercial advertising.

In addition, Sergey Shishkarev proposed taking a company’s position in the ECG Rating into account when allocating state support measures, as the rating reflects, among other things, a company’s contribution to demographic development. He also suggested considering an exemption from personal income tax and social insurance contributions for expenses related to health resort treatment and holidays for employees with children.

“Thank you very much, Sergey Nikolayevich, for your active work as the head of our working group and for the engaging and empowering ideas and proposals you bring forward. I believe Delo Group has no shortage of personnel, given the attention you devote, as a socially responsible company, to your employees and their families. Thank you. By all means, carry on— there is still much work ahead of us,” said Valentina Matvienko.

“When developing a corporate demographic policy, we start first and foremost with what matters to our employees, with their concerns and the needs of their families. By addressing these needs and complementing state support measures, corporate demographic programmes can help reverse the declining birth-rate trend and drive positive growth. We are ready to continue working together to ensure that our population grows and that Russia welcomes more children,” said Sergey Shishkarev.

“Delo Group does not use generic images of families with three or more children in its advertising and corporate media, — they have all means to utilize their own employees’ pictures. In this way, the company fosters a culture of maximum support, demonstrating real examples of its family-focused philosophy of care,” said Sergey Novikov, Head of the Presidential Directorate for Public Projects.

Delo Group’s corporate demographic programme has been in place since 2022 and covers approximately 11,000 employees. In 2024, Sergey Shishkarev presented the programme to Vladimir Putin, and in 2025 he joined the Presidential Council for the Implementation of State Demographic and Family Policy. The programme includes progressive childbirth payments, including 1 million rubles for the birth of a third child, reimbursement of kindergarten expenses, and summer camp vouchers. Since 2026, families have also received a vehicle upon the birth of a fourth child.

Photo courtesy of the Federation Council Press Service. < Back to list