diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/gperf/default.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/gperf/default.nix
index 71b0bbd0b0d6..d836e5a973ae 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/gperf/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/gperf/default.nix
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     sha256 = "1qispg6i508rq8pkajh26cznwimbnj06wq9sd85vg95v8nwld1aq";
   };
 
+  enableParallelBuilding = true;
+
   meta = {
     description = "Perfect hash function generator";