diff --git a/pkgs/tools/text/gnugrep/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/text/gnugrep/default.nix
index 75c6f6950737..e0f4e5f8d4aa 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/text/gnugrep/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/text/gnugrep/default.nix
@@ -36,6 +36,8 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
     export MKDIR_P="mkdir -p"
   '';
 
+  enableParallelBuilding = true;
+
   # Fix reference to sh in bootstrap-tools, and invoke grep via
   # absolute path rather than looking at argv[0].
   postInstall =