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A Time to Value - Proposal for a National Paid Maternity Leave Scheme

Part C: The Benefits

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4. OVERVIEW

5. HEALTH AND WELLBEING OF MOTHERS, BABIES AND THEIR FAMILIES

6. ECONOMIC SECURITY 7. ADDRESSING WORKPLACE DISADVANTAGE 8. EQUALITY 9. SOCIAL BENEFITS 10. BENEFITS TO EMPLOYERS AND THE ECONOMY 11. OUTSTANDING ISSUES

4. Overview

The interim paper, Valuing Parenthood: Options for paid maternity leave set out an extensive range of objectives that paid maternity leave could meet. [242] Many of these objectives were dependent on the structure of the scheme that was implemented.

As part of the consultation process for this paper, HREOC asked the community which objectives they considered were most important in an Australian context, and the extent to which they considered that paid maternity leave could deliver these objectives. This Part of the paper sets out the views presented in consultations and submissions in response to these questions, and states HREOC's conclusions.

HREOC considers that the introduction of a national scheme of paid maternity leave in Australia should be a priority. As set out in Part B, families are coming under increasing time and financial pressure. Now, more than ever before, families and parents need support to combine work and child rearing. A national paid maternity leave scheme is an essential part of such support.

HREOC considers that paid maternity leave is a basic entitlement that women in paid work should be able to access. HREOC is of the view that the principal reasons that paid maternity leave should be a basic entitlement are the significant benefits it has in terms of:

These are the reasons that paid maternity leave has been enshrined in international conventions, namely CEDAW and the International Labour Organization's Maternity Protection Convention 2000 (Maternity Protection Convention).

In addition to these primary reasons, there is also a broad range of additional benefits that will flow from the introduction of paid maternity leave. They include:

Clearly, paid maternity leave cannot achieve such a range of outcomes on its own. However, these were the issues that the community considered needed to be addressed. Submissions and consultations emphasised that paid maternity leave could make a significant contribution to achieving many of these outcomes. It was considered that, for some objectives, particularly that of promoting the health and wellbeing of mothers and their children, the introduction of a national scheme of paid maternity leave would deliver significant benefits in its own right.

The final Chapter in this Part sets out the range of outstanding issues which the community considered should be addressed in addition to paid maternity leave to help families better combine raising children with paid work

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5. Health and wellbeing of mothers, babies and their families

5.1 Introduction

The health and wellbeing of new mothers and babies is the most fundamental argument for paid maternity leave. While income support measures may be designed to achieve a variety of outcomes, the need to ensure that women can afford to spend the first weeks of a child's life recovering from the birth and nurturing the baby requires a measure designed to provide this. The 14 weeks leave recommended by the International Labour Organization and the 16 weeks leave recommended by the World Health Organization are premised on this argument. [243]

The need to safeguard health squarely supports the provision of paid maternity leave to mothers only, rather than paid parental leave which is available to either parent. However, this Chapter also examines the importance of paid maternity leave to all family members, most particularly infants but also fathers.

This Chapter discusses:

Health and wellbeing was an aspect of the paid maternity leave debate that received less discussion in HREOC's interim paper Valuing Parenthood: Options for paid maternity leave. Consequently, this Chapter not only provides a discussion of issues raised in submissions and consultations, it also canvasses the substantial literature on this topic. During the consultation process, HREOC wrote to academic and medical experts in this field seeking information specifically on the health implications of maternity leave. This Chapter reports on information provided during that correspondence.

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5.2 Health and wellbeing of mothers

5.2.1 Introduction

There are a number of related reasons why women need a specific period out of the workforce free from financial concerns following the birth of a child. Submissions canvassed many of these issues.

Paid maternity leave would provide appropriate support for women and families with new babies. The time before and after childbirth is critical for the physical and psychological wellbeing of the mother and child. Paid maternity leave would help to alleviate extra stresses that would result from the loss of income from the mother stopping work. It would also ensure that mothers had time to recover rather than being forced back into the workforce prematurely. [244]

[Paid maternity leave means that w]omen can take time off without financial worry - ensuring that the first months of a baby's life is stress-free (in the context that the mother has one less thing to worry about) and that women can relax into being a mum rather than worrying how the bills will be paid. [245]

In addition, individual mothers told HREOC about the physical and emotional impact of financial stress following childbirth.

The stress of not knowing how one is going to make ends meet even for a few weeks after birth is horrific and I've lived it twice. To just be able to have those first few weeks paid would at least give us something whilst we bond with our babies. [246]

It was horrible [returning to work with a seven week old baby]. It was something that I knew I had to do so I was aware of it and I just tried my best. I didn't cut hours. I went back to my contracted hours which then was 54 hours per fortnight. I think I should have cut my hours but financially I just wasn't able to because every last dollar of my pay is relied on. [247]

This section outlines some of these issues.

5.2.2 Physical health

It is generally agreed that the physical and emotional demands of childbirth require a period of recovery and adaptation. A number of studies examining the health status of women after childbirth have found that many women experience a range of health problems over a number of months following delivery. These health problems are often simply the common effects of pregnancy, childbirth and lactation, but they indicate, at the very least, a need for rest and recovery. A population based survey of Victorian women conducted in 1993-1994 found that 94 per cent or 1,254 of the 1,336 women surveyed experienced one or more health problem over the first six months following childbirth. The most common health problems experienced over this six month period were tiredness (69 per cent) and backache (43.5 per cent). [248]

This prevalence of health problems in new mothers up to six months post delivery is confirmed by a more recent population based study conducted in the Australian Capital Territory in 1997. [249] Exhaustion or extreme tiredness was experienced by 60 per cent of the 1 193 women who completed the survey eight weeks after delivery. This percentage reduced to 49 per cent of women 24 weeks after delivery. Backache was experienced by 53 per cent of new mothers eight weeks after birth, reducing to 45 per cent of new mothers 24 weeks after birth. [250] The authors contended that while declining in prevalence, these health problems are still common after six months, perhaps reflecting the exigencies of parenting as well as the physical impact of pregnancy and childbirth itself. [251] Other health problems that were showing resolution between eight weeks and 24 weeks after birth included bowel problems, lack of sleep due to the baby crying, hemorrhoids, perineal pain, excessive or prolonged bleeding, urinary incontinence, mastitis, and other urinary problems. Only six per cent of new mothers reported an absence of health problems in the first eight weeks, 17 per cent in the second eight weeks, and 19 per cent between 17 and 24 weeks postpartum. [252]

A US study of 654 women who gave birth between October 1991 and February 1992 found that at seven months post delivery potentially infectious symptoms such as colds and flu were experienced by many: 25 per cent had one symptom; 18 per cent had two symptoms; and 37 per cent of women had three or more symptoms. Non infectious symptoms of ill health, such as stiff joints, neck or back pain were also experienced by many of the women interviewed. [253] Another US study which interviewed 96 women found that 63 per cent had recovered physically, mentally and emotionally six months after childbirth. However, 25 per cent of the women reported that they still had not recovered physically, 12 per cent stated that their mental recovery was incomplete, and 17 per cent considered that their emotional recovery was not yet complete. A further seven per cent of the women reported that they had not fully recovered in any of the three areas. [254]

Many of these health problems on their own would not prevent a woman from returning to work, but most would require a period of adjustment or rest, if not full recovery. Providing a period of paid leave for new mothers:

… means that the financial strain after childbirth does not force women back into the workforce prematurely, a situation which causes unnecessary stress and anxiety for both mother and child. [255]

It is well documented, the effects on the body, despite [childbirth] being 'natural'. [Fourteen weeks] is barely enough to physically recover. It just covers the transition period. You need to keep [new mothers] out of physical labour in order for them to get better. [256]

5.2.3 Physical effects of early return to work

Providing women with an income while they are absent from the workforce due to childbirth would allow many women, who now return to work shortly after delivery because of financial constraints, [257] adequate time to physically recover. Evidence of an early return to work necessitated by economic circumstances was provided by a number of submissions.

With the birth of Ethan this June, I had a caesarean again and it is very different. We live upstairs so physically it's hard. I haven't had time to relax, and take it easy. Coping on your own as a couple with a new baby, getting to know the baby, then the financial pressures, and then going back to work [two weeks after the birth] - it is very hard. I'm tired, irritable. And I can't see my baby! I wanted to bring him in and keep him under my desk! I can't get myself organised and into a routine. [258]

The length of time required for complete maternal recovery varies with the individual woman and her child. However, the traditionally held view of a six week maternal recovery time has been called into question as too short.

The classic postnatal period or puerperium is the first 6 weeks after delivery however it is well known that several body systems notably the urinary tract do not recover their full non pregnant status until 3 months post delivery. This coupled with the need to successfully establish and maintain breast feeding … with all its attendant benefits for neonatal health of the child and quicker restitution of the maternal birth canal and uterine involution (i.e. return to a normal non pregnant size) would advocate at least a 14 week period of postnatal leave prior to the return to the work force. [259]

The findings of a number of studies undertaken in the US support the need for an extended period of postpartum recovery beyond the traditional six weeks. One study concluded that:

… the conventional view of a six week postpartum recovery may not fit all women, particularly employed women who lack the flexibility to adapt their job demands or schedules to accommodate needs for rest and recuperation throughout the postpartum year. [260]

That study also found that the duration of maternity leave, measured as the time off work, has a complex and significant effect on maternal health. The effect of time off work was U-shaped, with initially less time off work associated with better health, [261] but this relationship reversed itself at later stages of the postpartum period, revealing more time off work to be associated with better health outcomes. Generic measures of health were used, these being mental health, vitality and role function. The positive effect of time off work on maternal health was observed to begin at 12 weeks postpartum for vitality (based on an assessment of energy and lack of fatigue), at 15 weeks postpartum for mental health (based on an assessment of depression and anxiety), and at 20 weeks postpartum for role function (based on an assessment of the combined effect of physical and emotional health problems, or fatigue on an individual's daily activities). [262]

5.2.4 Fatigue

Fatigue is a major health concern for many new mothers. This was borne out during the consultations.

You are chronically fatigued after the birth of a child. [263]

Even if you don't breastfeed you are still tired. [264]

The bearing of children is work, hard work, involving loss of sleep, immense fatigue, the necessity to maintain an equilibrium, continue the family support role and cope with whatever occurs. [265]

An Australian study into the functional status of women after childbirth found that fatigue is a common concern during the first six months postpartum. [266] In reviewing the literature, the author states that the percentage of women negatively affected by fatigue varies from 26 per cent to 96 per cent depending on the survey period and the temperament of the baby. [267] Another study found that a lack of physical energy and repeated baby night time wakenings were linked with lower levels of functional status during the first six months after birth. [268] This study and others on functional status after childbirth are discussed below at 5.2.5.

Sleep deprivation is also experienced by the parents of adopted children. Most, if not all, adopted children suffer from sleeping problems, either as a result of the trauma they have suffered in institutions or as a result of the adoption process. Sometimes these problems can be quite severe. Most adopted children suffer from sleeping problems which deprive adoptive parents of normal sleeping patterns, at least for the first few months as the adopted child adapts to his or her new family environment. [269]

5.2.5 Functionality

An Australian study defined functional status after childbirth as the:

… assumption of the desired or required infant care responsibilities, and the resumption of self-care, household, social/community, and occupational activities at the pre-delivery level. [270]

This study surveyed 132 women at six weeks postpartum of whom 66 (50 per cent) were employed outside the home prior to giving birth. Sixty per cent of the 66 women received unpaid maternity leave, 53 per cent of the 66 saw themselves as professional women, and 75 per cent of the 66 intended to return to work. [271]

Significantly, none of the respondents had achieved full functional status by six weeks postpartum. For household activities only 17 per cent (23 of the 132) stated that they had resumed their activities around the home; for social/community activities only eight per cent (10 of the 132) reported that they had fully resumed such activity; and for self care, none of the women had fully resumed the levels of pre-birth activity. For baby care 47 per cent (62 of the 132) had fully engaged in their desired level of baby care and for those mothers who had resumed employment (17 of the 132), only 18 per cent (three of the 17) felt that they were functioning at as high a level as they had prior to having their baby. [272]

5.2.6 Method of birth

In 1999, caesarean sections accounted for 21.9 per cent of all confinements in Australia. [273] Caesarean rates were generally higher as maternal age increased. Women aged less than 20 years had a caesarean rate of 12.3 per cent while mothers aged 40 years and over had a caesarean rate of 37.6 per cent. [274] There is also a higher correlation of caesarean births with private health insurance status. For example, mothers aged 35 to 39 years who had private health insurance status in hospital and who were having their first baby had a caesarean rate of 44.3 per cent compared with 34.0 per cent for those who had public health insurance status. [275] The caesarean rate continues to show an overall upwards trend in recent decades. [276]

The median maternal age in Australia has increased gradually from 27.9 years in 1991 [277] to 30 years in 2001. [278] The combination of delayed pregnancy and increased private health insurance coverage suggests that the upwards trend in the rate of caesarean sections will not abate.

Mothers who deliver their children by caesarean section usually require a longer recovery period than women who give birth naturally. For example, women who have undergone caesarean sections are strongly advised by the medical profession not to drive a vehicle [279] nor lift for six weeks after delivery.

5.2.7 Mental health

Paid maternity leave may assist in addressing some of the risk factors for postnatal depression. [280] Postnatal depression, sometimes expressed as "slow, tired, hopeless behaviour, eyes filled with unshed tears or constant crying, or by intense anxiety and frantic behaviour" [281] is experienced by a significant proportion of new mothers. [282] Depressive symptoms can last for some months after childbirth. [283] Between 40 per cent and 70 per cent of cases of postnatal depression have their onset in the first three months after birth. [284] Concern about the mental health of new mothers was expressed in public consultations and submissions.

Australia is experiencing a mental health crisis, increasing family and marriage breakdowns, and high incidences of postnatal depression. Financial stresses are almost always cited as contributing to, if not causing, these problems. [285]

The effects of maternal depression and poor maternal mental health on children range from a mother's distorted view of her child's health (which may exacerbate pre-existing anxiety and result in increased and unnecessary use of health services) to significant developmental and emotional problems for children. [286]

A recent Australian population based survey shows that, of the 1 336 women surveyed six to seven months after childbirth in 1993-1994, 16.9 per cent were depressed as indicated by scores on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDN). [287] Depression rates are observed to decline over the first 24 weeks of the child's life. [288]

Paid maternity leave was cited in submissions and public consultations as one means of addressing postnatal depression.

First, [paid maternity leave] may reduce risk of maternal and child morbidity via the reduction of financial stress or hardship. Second, it means that mother's work and family goals are not placed in opposition, reducing her risk for depression. [289]

Of course, paid maternity leave should not be viewed as a panacea for all the mental health issues surrounding motherhood.

Being paid … won't make most women less tired but will go a long way to relieving family financial pressures at a time which is one of the most stressful in a woman's life. [290]

5.2.8 Breastfeeding

The health benefits of breastfeeding for women include a significant reduction in the risk of contracting osteoporosis, breast cancer, cervical cancer and ovarian cancer. [291] Other health benefits of breastfeeding for women include the encouragement of bonding between mother and baby and the reduction in bleeding after giving birth. [292]

Several submissions referred to the need for a period of leave in order to establish a breastfeeding routine.

A period of paid maternity leave allows mothers time to … establish breastfeeding. There is considerable medical evidence to suggest that women benefit from a period of adjustment after the birth of the baby, which does not require them to return immediately to structured paid employment. A well-established breastfeeding routine does take some time to establish in most circumstances, and a daily routine that reduces the contact between mother and baby would make this difficult to establish. [293]

[T]he longer the paid leave, the better chance there is of establishing breastfeeding … Financial pressures and an unsupportive employer can take away a mother's choice to breastfeed. Our experience in counseling mothers through our Breastfeeding Helpline indicates that some mothers either do not initiate breastfeeding or only do so for a matter of weeks if they are returning to the paid workforce in the early months after the birth. [294]

It became very difficult to establish and then to maintain breastfeeding when I had to return to work and in fact, became impossible. This is something I regret deeply but we had no other options. [295]

Establishing a breastfeeding routine requires time and effort on the part of the mother as highlighted in an interview with an individual.

I made the decision when I was pregnant that I wouldn't even try [to breastfeed] … because the time wouldn't have allowed for it. I couldn't have gone to work ten days per fortnight and breastfed. It's not an option. [296]

The health benefits of breastfeeding for infants is discussed below at 5.3.1.

The World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding for up to six months of an infant's life. [297] Many submissions referred to this recommendation.

The importance of breastfeeding for women's health (as protection against breast cancer) as well as for child health has recently been recognized. It is Federal Government policy to encourage breastfeeding in accordance with World Health Organization standards. Australian public health targets propose that up to 80 per cent of children should be partially breast fed up to six months of age. [298]

Breastfeeding rates have leveled off in Australia over the last decade, [299] and mothers in lower socio-economic groups are significantly less likely to breastfeed beyond the first few weeks of their infants' lives. [300]

Around nine in ten women initiate breastfeeding, but by 12 weeks this has fallen to 60 per cent. By 6 months only approximately four in ten mothers are still breastfeeding. [301]

Australian data show that during 1992-1995, 81.8 per cent of infants were breastfed following discharge from hospital. At 13 weeks of age, 57.1 per cent were exclusively breastfed, and 63 per cent exclusively or partially breastfed. At 25 weeks of age, 18.6 per cent were exclusively breastfed, and 46.2 per cent exclusively or partially breast fed. [302]

A recent study found that less than one in ten infants in the Australian Capital Territory are exclusively breastfed for the recommended six months, even though initiation rates of breastfeeding are high (92 percent). [303] The study concluded that this was due mainly to supplementation or weaning onto formula within the first three months, and the early introduction of solids. Other research suggests that the duration of breastfeeding is dependent upon the duration of maternity leave. [304]

A number of studies have estimated the costs of early weaning from breast milk. The attributable hospitalization costs of early weaning in the Australian Capital Territory are estimated to be around $1-2 million per annum for five childhood illnesses [305] having known associations with early weaning from human milk. [306] The authors emphasised that these costs are minimum estimates of the true cost of early weaning as they exclude numerous other chronic or common illnesses, and out-of-hospital health care costs, such as costs of health care professionals and prescription costs.

Another study estimated the Australian public hospital costs of just three common infant illnesses statistically attributable to formula feeding (assuming a breastfeeding prevalence of 60 per cent at three months postpartum) to be around $18 million. [307] Again, this estimate excludes private financial and economic costs associated with post-hospital consultations with general practitioners and pediatricians, pharmaceutical and nursing costs, household disruption and productivity losses, and long term morbidity costs for the infant. The other costs of infant illness such as days absent from work, days absent from school, or days of reduced activity are also significant. For example, mothers in the US in the paid workforce who formula feed their infants have higher absenteeism than breastfeeding mothers. [308]

Some submissions linked a period of paid maternity leave to the establishment of breastfeeding. For example the Women's Electoral Lobby noted that:

[p]roviding working women with a 14-week period of paid maternity leave is an important form of support for this policy [of supporting six months of breastfeeding]. Women unfairly bear the costs of this public health strategy unless maternity leave is paid and other workplace supports and facilities are supported. [309]

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5.3 Health and wellbeing of babies

5.3.1 Breastfeeding

There is ample evidence of the health benefits of breastfeeding for children. As was asserted in one consultation, "… studies show that babies that are breast fed thrive. They do better." [310]

There is some evidence to suggest that formula fed infants:

Breastfeeding for at least four to six months may also reduce both the incidence and severity of some infectious diseases and other ailments. [312]

A major Canadian study has found that:

[i]n addition to the nutritional benefits for the baby, breastfeeding in the critical early period of brain development appears to have a positive, long-term impact on the organization of the brain's neural pathways.

…
The weight of the evidence indicates that breastfeeding provides both optimal nutrition and stimulation for newborn babies and young infants. Human breast milk contains the optimal balance of nutrients needed for brain and body growth. The act of breastfeeding provides frequent opportunities for skin-to-skin touch and smell stimulation. [313]

5.3.2 Bonding

Many submissions referred to the importance of maternal bonding or attachment for the child's emotional development.

This bonding is critical. I'm not saying if you go back [to work] after the child is 4 days old you won't bond, but there are issues about bonding at this age and how the child is in later life. [314]

[L]earning occurs within the context of relationships, emotional and cognitive outcomes are dependent on the attachments formed with the primary caregiver. [315]

Breastfeeding, apart from its nutritional benefits, provides the optimum opportunity for mothers and babies to bond. One submission referred to:

… the absolute primacy of attachment in the early days and weeks, when mimicry, symbiosis, breast-feeding, familiar heart-beat and voice, health and sanity of the mother - all have a vital part to play. [316]

Just as consuming breast milk compared to formula milk has huge advantages to infants and their mothers, the physical intimacy between mother and child during breastfeeding has huge advantages over expressed milk being fed to the infant by another carer. [317]

A period of paid leave provides women with the necessary time to bond effectively with their children.

Parental leave increases the opportunity for ... attachment to occur. Secure attachment is the cornerstone for the development of all future relationships. [318]

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5.4 Emotional wellbeing for the father

Several submissions echoed the comments made at a number of public consultations about the impact of a new baby on a family's financial and emotional resources. In particular, new fathers bear a greater proportion of the financial responsibility for the family, often by working longer hours to compensate for the loss of the woman's income.

In Australia, data on working hours also demonstrates that men are more likely to work particularly long hours when they have babies/young children - one of the reasons being the mother's loss of income. Families on low incomes are more likely to be sensitive to foregone income as a greater proportion of the household's disposable income will be required to meet the costs associated with child birth. Paid maternity leave would reduce the pressure on fathers to work long hours, another valuable social policy outcome. [319]

The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), has recently embarked upon a campaign for paid maternity leave, on the basis that their (mostly male) members would not feel the need to work so much overtime whilst their children are small, if their partners were able to take leave from work with pay. This suggests that many of the partners of CFMEU members do take leave when they have a baby, but do not receive any leave payments. Consequently, their male partners must make up as much of their lost income as possible by working overtime, and are not as able to participate in family activities or share any of the child-care work. Paid maternity leave would therefore benefit fathers and families as a whole. [320]

Fathers are missing out because they feel that they have to earn extra money to make up for the mother staying at home. [321]

Working longer hours has a deleterious effect on the father's ability to adapt to fatherhood, to bond with his child, and to provide emotional support and household assistance for his partner at a particularly stressful time for all members of the family.

The farmer may often stay out on the block a lot longer. This means little interaction with his wife and children because he goes before sunrise and doesn't come home until after dark. [322]

Sharing in the care of a newborn provides fathers with confidence in their caring abilities. [323] Often fathers are required to do the bulk of the care of a newborn if there are birth complications.

Gregory whose partner had an emergency caesarean birth explained that having a great deal of early contact with the baby after the birth increased his confidence in caring for the baby and helped in establishing a bond between them. [324]

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5.5 Conclusion

HREOC agrees that:

[m]aternity leave is to provide a measure of employment protection to female employees in employment who become pregnant, to safeguard the health of the mother in the period before and after confinement and to enable the female employee to be absent for child care. [325]

The health and wellbeing of mothers following childbirth is a key reason to introduce a secure paid maternity leave scheme. Women need a period of rest to recover from childbirth before they can resume usual activities. Many women experience health problems as a consequence of childbirth and even where these health problems are mild they still require a period of adjustment. Women who experience multiple health problems or depression may need a more substantial period of time away from work.

Women should not be forced to return to work because of financial reasons before they have this time to recover. The amount of time each woman needs to guarantee recovery from childbirth will depend on the individual. However, experts agree that an absolute minimum would be a period of between 12 to 16 weeks. It goes without saying that the health and wellbeing of the child is likely to be directly affected by that of their mother.

Paid maternity leave would guarantee new mothers a period of recovery without additional financial concerns. In addition, paid maternity leave would guarantee that women who breastfeed have a chance to establish a feeding routine and to bond with their babies at a crucial time for infant development, for the direct benefit of the child.

HREOC considers that paid maternity leave is crucial for the health and wellbeing of mothers and babies, and that it would indirectly benefit fathers by reducing financial stress on families and permitting additional parenting time.

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6. Economic security

6.1 Introduction

The onset of family responsibilities usually marks the beginning of reduced economic security for women since there is a shift either out of work entirely or into part time and casual work. While the family unit has historically masked disadvantage of this kind, the changing nature of families now means that economic disadvantage is borne more directly by individual members. In addition to this, the changing nature of retirement incomes compounds this disadvantage and insecurity for women in the latter years of their lives.

This Chapter explores the nature of economic insecurity and the contribution paid maternity leave could make to fostering women's economic security, both short term and over their lifetimes.

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6.2 Financial support at the time of childbirth

A payment at the time of childbirth would provide women with economic security by ensuring that they have access to an adequate level of income. This is an issue for all women, whether they are in paid work or are caring full time for a child. The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association, for example, stated that the primary objective of a paid maternity leave scheme must be "the provision of a payment which is sufficient to ensure that the woman and her family are able to live with dignity during the period before and after the child is born". [326]

The Women's Action Alliance considered that providing families with financial support at the time of the birth of a child was one of the primary objectives of paid maternity leave. It considered that:

[a]n inclusive maternity payment would provide appropriate support for women and families with new babies in terms of timing because when a new child is brought into the family there is increased cost and workforce disruption. [327]

HREOC is strongly of the view that the Government should ensure that all women have adequate financial support at the time of childbirth. Chapter 3 reviews the adequacy of current government payments in relation to this goal.

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6.3 Income replacement

Under current arrangements in Australia, the majority of women must forego income from paid work as a result of giving birth. Over 60 per cent of women in paid work at the time of birth of their child currently do not have access to paid maternity leave [328] and so must lose their income over the period when they leave work to give birth. This is an issue common to all women in employment who have, or are considering having, a child. Foregoing income is a particular issue for women in paid work. While ensuring women who are not in paid work are adequately supported at the time of childbirth is a significant concern, these women are not faced with the same reduction in income as a result of childbirth.

In contrast to the experience of women in paid work, income reduction is not generally a problem experienced by men when they become fathers. While men may choose to take leave at the time of birth of a child, and HREOC supports measures to encourage men's involvement in the family at childbirth, [329] there is not the same physical necessity to be absent from the workforce.

Paid maternity leave has the potential to replace some, if not all, of the income women lose when they leave the workforce on maternity leave. As one woman stated "regardless of how much you are earning there is still financial stress that comes when you lose one salary". [330]

Many submissions recognised the importance of a scheme of paid maternity leave as an income replacement mechanism. [331] Income replacement is different to income support (such as Parenting Payment) and income supplementation (such as the Family Tax Benefits). Paid maternity leave, as an income replacement scheme, would be time limited and linked to workforce participation. The South Australian Commissioner for Equal Opportunity emphasised that:

[i]t is important that women receive financial compensation for leave taken due to childbirth and that they are not disadvantaged financially for taking time off to have children. [332]

Other submissions also reflected this view. The Australian Federation of University Women - Victoria argued that:

[p]aid maternity leave allows a woman to take a period of time to concentrate on the needs of her newborn baby and to recuperate from the birth without financial concern. [333]

The problems caused by loss of income are exacerbated for women on lower incomes as under the current system of employer funded paid maternity leave these women are least likely to have access to paid maternity leave [334] and are also less likely to be able to make use of unpaid parental leave arrangements due to their financial circumstances. Several submissions raised this issue.

[A] national … scheme would be of particular value to women on low incomes. These women, who make up a significant proportion of women workers, currently have less access to paid maternity leave than higher income earners, and without paid leave are more likely to have to return to work earlier than they would otherwise choose to. [335]

[F]or parents, in particular low income parents and the growing number of single parents who have financial commitments, there is often no choice. These parents are unable to capitalise on the opportunity associated with 12 months unpaid maternity leave. [336]

[T]he data, and our own experience, indicates that access to paid maternity leave and other family-friendly policies is skewed towards those who already have higher incomes and greater individual workplace status. A substantial maternity payment would assist in addressing the disadvantage experienced by low income women. [337]

Lower income earners also cited the need for two incomes.

I am 27 years old, just married and paying off a first home. My husband and I would dearly love to have children but at this time in our life we could not afford for me to have any length of time off work, we need to keep up home loan payments and my salary is a large contributor. We figure it might be possible in about five years time. The only thing that worries me about that is that I will be in my mid-thirties by then. [338]

A number of submissions from highly educated women also pointed out their need for government assistance around the birth of their children.

I am a skilled and highly qualified professional permanent resident in Australia, where I have been employed and have paid income tax to the government for the past 8 years … My husband and I are now faced with a dilemma. For the sake of our daughter and ourselves we would like to consider having another child. The financial consequences however, prevent this from being an easy choice. My husband was made redundant from his workplace three months ago. My current income and our achieved financial assets make my husband ineligible for unemployment benefits (besides the fact that he is too proud to actually apply for unemployment benefits). With only my income to support our lifestyle (after our income was halved due to his unemployment), we are not in a position to contemplate a second child, as this would render us without any income for at least a period of 3-6 months. [339]

I am a 29 year old chemical engineer thinking about having a baby in about 12 months time. I would like to take around 4 months off, then go back to work part time, but as my husband is a postgrad student, we will be going from one income to a part time income if we have a child!! 8 or 12 weeks paid maternity leave would make a big difference during those initial months! [340]

Submissions also raised the concern that a short period of paid leave, such as 14 weeks, may be inadequate since most women take a longer period of leave following the birth of a child. For example, Australian Business Industrial reported on a survey of its members that "… the vast majority of women who had taken the leave had taken the majority of their 12 months statutory maximum amount of leave". [341] However, HREOC agrees with the point made in another submission that:

[t]he fact is that ... women take leave and other forms of time out of the paid workforce and any contribution of say 14 weeks payment is only a partial recompense for the costs incurred. [342]

HREOC strongly emphasises that any minimum period of paid leave would not affect the ability of eligible women to take advantage of the full period of currently mandated unpaid leave should they choose, and be in a position, to do so. The provision of a minimum period of paid leave should be interpreted as recognition of the legitimacy of a period of time out of the workforce, and not an exhortation to return before women are prepared to do so. Further, of course, the period of paid leave will assist many parents to manage a longer period of unpaid leave.

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6.4 The costs of children

The Cost of Children report released by AMP and the National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling in October 2002, found that the total cost in today's dollars of raising two children from birth to age 20 is $448 000, or $322 a week. Parents on average spend around $50 000 on education and childcare. These costs rise if parents choose to send their child to private schools. [343]

A number of submissions and consultations pointed out that part of the economic disadvantage faced by women and their partners in having children relates to the cost of raising them. The costs of having children, in particular the costs incurred around the time of childbirth was raised in a consultation with women's groups and community in Perth.

This child is an absolute pure luxury because we've made major sacrifices to do it and to be here now, sacrificed birthday parties for the children, birthday presents for the children, just everything. The financials I think are the key obstacle. [344]

The National Pay Equity Coalition stated that:

[m]ost families have very limited capacity to meet the additional costs of having children through savings - especially for second and other children. [345]

This cost is higher for parents adopting children. Submissions from adoptive parents pointed out that the system of adoption is largely user-pays, and that adoptive parents face a particular cost burden associated with building a family. [346] One set of adoptive parents wrote that "[m]any adoptive families go into considerable debt to adopt children." [347]

The capacity of paid maternity leave to assist families with the cost of children was challenged in the submission from the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which argued that:

[f]inancial commitments to children are clearly decades long and extend in financial and time terms well beyond any options for additional maternal benefits. [348]

There is no doubt that the cost of raising children is more than offset for most parents by the rewards of parenthood. Nevertheless, while financial assistance is currently available to families, HREOC considers paid maternity leave to be a further measure of assistance, especially with costs incurred at the time of the birth, but with the additional feature of making full time parental care possible for a limited period of time.

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6.5 Women's lifetime earnings

In addition to losing short term income, a woman's lifetime earning capacity is severely reduced as a result of leaving the workforce to bear and raise children.

A study undertaken by the Australian National University estimates that women with high levels of education (12 years) forego $239 000 in lifetime earnings from having one child. A woman with average education (10 years) forgoes $201 000 and a women with a low level of education (less than 10 years) foregoes $157 000. [349]

Some submissions argued that in providing direct compensation for a specified period, paid maternity leave goes some way to addressing the lifetime earning inequities women experience as a result of leaving the workforce to bear and raise children. [350]

HREOC acknowledges that paid maternity leave in its own right will have limited impact on the reduced lifetime earnings of women as a result of their ongoing commitment to family responsibilities. [351] However, by assisting women to maintain their labour force attachment and making it easier for women to combine work and family, paid maternity leave will contribute to raising women's earnings across their lifetime. As stated by the National Pay Equity Coalition, "[l]onger duration of employment is associated with better pay, higher level jobs and greater retirement income". [352]

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6.6 Superannuation and retirement incomes for women

Currently Australian women workers have substantially poorer retirement incomes than men. This is in part the result of their more limited time in the workforce, pay inequities and systemic discrimination in access to job opportunities for women, mostly as a result of their child bearing responsibilities. This was raised in a consultation held with union representatives in Perth.

Motherhood impoverishes women but fatherhood doesn't impoverish men … Men do not have to choose. Fatherhood doesn't reflect on their superannuation. [353]

The National Pay Equity Coalition referred to research that estimates:

[m]en's retirement incomes are 50% higher than women on the same income because of women's time out of paid work. A woman on the median income for women who works from the age of twenty to the age of sixty with a five year break in her late twenties would retire on 1.5 times the age pension, while a man working from twenty to sixty would retire on three times the age pension. [354]

Superannuation accumulations are maximised for individuals when they remain in the workforce for long, ongoing periods of time at high wages. This is not the life experience of women, as noted in the Ethnic Communities' Council of Victoria submission.

Women are disadvantaged in saving for their retirement if they need to give up work to have children. Women are more likely than men to have little or no superannuation, and repeated entry and exits from the workforce for childbirth and childrearing result in lower superannuation contributions as well as the loss of seniority and the recurrent need to establish wages and other entitlements. [355]

The increasing rate of divorce means that women's superannuation savings have and will continue to take on increased significance for women's economic security. [356] As stated in the YWCA of Victoria submission, "… it is not very radical to suggest that young women cannot plan on being financially dependent on another person in their older age". [357]

The problem of low retirement incomes for women is exacerbated by their greater longevity compared with men. This, combined with their tendency to retire early, results in women spending twice as many years in retirement as men. [358] HREOC considers low retirement income to be one of the most pressing aspects of systemic discrimination against women.

The provision of paid maternity leave will not solve this problem. Addressing women's retirement income is a significant issue that will require major government attention and action in coming years. However, paid maternity leave can contribute to improving women's superannuation savings in an indirect manner by assisting women to maintain their labour force attachment and making it easier for women to combine work and family. As stated in the submission by the Women's Economic Policy Analysis Unit:

… policies that support women in paid employment will have a positive effect on superannuation accumulations … paid maternity leave, by definition, will increase income over the lifecycle and superannuation accumulations. [359]

Some submissions suggested that a national scheme of paid maternity leave should include a provision for superannuation payments to continue during the period of paid leave. [360]

The Women's Economic Policy Analysis Unit of Curtin University considered women's retirement incomes in its submission. It referred to a study which modeled the impact of paid maternity leave on women's lifetime earnings and superannuation accumulations. [361] With continued superannuation payments during a period of 12 weeks paid leave in a variety of scenarios, the authors estimated an effect of between one per cent and four per cent on superannuation accumulations at age 60.

The Women's Economic Think Tank [362] and the Women's Electoral Lobby [363] proposed that these superannuation costs should be met by the Government. Others, including the Women's Economic Policy Analysis Unit [364] and one individual [365] suggested that Government meet the cost of the maternity leave payments and that employers provide superannuation payments for this period.

The Work + Family Policy Research Group, University of Sydney submitted that:

[a] key rationale for paid maternity leave is the maintenance and protection of women's lifetime income and superannuation contributions are a significant component of this. We recommend continuation of this contribution throughout maternity leave, but further investigations need to be carried out about the mechanisms for this and the respective obligations of employers, employees and government. [366]

HREOC has not included a compulsory superannuation contribution in its proposed model for paid maternity leave, although it is noted that employers and employees may negotiate such a top up to the government scheme through enterprise bargaining. [367] The Government may wish to further consider the treatment of superannuation in the context of national provision of paid maternity leave.

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6.7 Labour force attachment

There is some debate in Australia about the benefits of women retaining their workforce attachment after establishing their families, although there is little debate about the macro-economic benefits of women returning to the workforce, bringing their skills and experience with them.

Many women in Australia leave the workforce either permanently or for several years following the birth of a child. Others return to work, either full time or part time, in the first year of their child's life. [368] The decisions that women and their families make are affected by a number of factors, including:

There are advantages to women in maintaining some workforce attachment - a reality recognised by the majority of those women who are in paid work by the time their youngest child reaches school age. Sixty- six per cent of female parents are in the labour force when their youngest child is between 6 -13 years of age. [369] As the Work + Family Policy Research Group of Sydney University noted:

… maintaining women's attachment to the workforce is an important factor in reducing their welfare dependency and the consequential poverty experienced by many Australian children. [370]

The Victorian Government noted that:

[i]t is widely recognised that there are economic benefits from having women return to work following maternity leave and that paid maternity leave may assist in their attachment to the labour force. [371]

There is debate about the degree to which paid maternity leave can promote women's workforce attachment.

There is some evidence that maternity leave paid by an organisation can increase loyalty of the worker to the organisation and dramatically increase return to work rates of women who take maternity leave. [372] Some submissions argued that if the employer provides paid maternity leave, employees are more inclined to return to work for their original employer after the birth of a child. [373] For example, the Australian Nursing Federation noted that:

[i]t is regularly reported by companies that the introduction of paid maternity leave has increased the proportion of women who return to work after maternity leave. [374]

Anecdotal evidence supports the labour force attachment effect of employer funded paid maternity leave as the following case studies indicate.

The Australian Industry Group noted that "[f]rom an employer perspective, there is much to gain from encouraging continued workforce participation by mothers". [379]

These workforce attachment effects are likely to be reduced when maternity leave is funded by Government. However, a number of submissions considered that even a government funded model of paid maternity leave is likely to encourage and assist women to maintain their workforce attachment. [380] For example, the Work + Family Policy Research Group stated that:

[p]aid maternity leave would go some way to ensuring women have the option of taking time off work to give birth and recover without necessarily withdrawing from the workforce. [381]

The National Pay Equity Coalition suggested that paid maternity leave:

… provides a bridge to continuing participation in paid work and ongoing economic self-sufficiency rather than requiring an ongoing downgrading of standard of living and/or entering into income support arrangements. [382]

Paid maternity leave is likely to encourage workforce attachment as much by the legitimacy it gives working mothers as by the financial incentive it offers. An individual submittor argued that "[p]aid maternity leave is the first missing link that aids women to continue their careers whilst also choosing to have a family". [383]

Women's Economic Think Tank noted that:

[t]he legitimation of maternity leave by such payments will reinforce the work and parenting connection and thereby it will be more likely that employment connections will be maintained. [384]

A national scheme would help to address the concern expressed by some women that in male dominated workplaces where paid maternity leave is available as the result of enterprise bargaining or award entitlements, female workers are still reluctant to take it for fear of creating workplace resentment.

According to the YWCA of Australia, the payment must be extended to casual, part time and contract workers if it is to enhance the workforce attachment of young women who are disproportionately represented in industries where casual and part time work is highly prevalent. [385]

While the range of factors leading women back into the workforce after childbirth should be recognised, particularly the financial limitations facing many families, women's workforce attachment should not be viewed merely as a constrained decision made by women against their better judgements.

As noted at 18.4.1, the provision of paid maternity leave would not involve any requirement for return to work at the end of the period of paid, or further unpaid, leave. In discussing workforce retention, the consideration is not to impose any obligation or pressure on women and their families to participate in the paid workforce, but to ensure that structural disincentives to work are reduced.

Some submissions, however, fundamentally questioned the desirability of women returning to work with dependent children. The Women's Action Alliance, for example, declared that "[n]o such incentive is required. In fact, probably the last thing we need is further incentives for mothers to be in paid work". [386] Another noted:

I do not support the paid maternity scheme. Better, for greater encouragement to mothers at home, to continue to stay at home during the few early years of infancy and childhood. I have survived and benefited from family values as we have chosen to be a single income earner for the last 20 years while my wife cared for our 5 children, and continues to do so. We could use more encouragement for more of this to happen. [387]

A number of commentators consider that the needs of children require that one parent, usually the mother, remain at home for many years to provide full time care. Others refer to research, including opinion polls, which suggest that women prefer to remain at home with young children. Despite a range of socio-economic factors which have driven the increasing participation rate of mothers in paid work over the past twenty years, clearly there is still community disagreement about the desirability of this trend.

While the conclusions about women's preferences may be debatable, it is true, as Catherine Hakim's analysis has made clear, that women are drawing from an array of options for their work and family arrangements. [388] Social equity is maximised by facilitating a broad range of choices, thus the need for Governments to support a number of different work and family arrangements.

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6.8 Conclusion

Paid maternity leave will directly contribute to increasing women's economic security by providing a guaranteed source of income at the time of birth of a child. In particular, paid maternity leave will provide income replacement for those women in employment who are currently required to forego their regular income as a result of taking time out of the workforce to give birth. Paid maternity leave will also help families with the additional costs faced at the time of birth of a child.

Paid maternity leave will assist some women to maintain their labour force attachment and make it easier for women to combine work and family. This will have longer term benefits for women by improving their lifetime earnings and increasing their superannuation savings.

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7. Addressing workplace disadvantage

7.1 Introduction

Australian workplaces are structured around historical arrangements intended to maximise workplace efficiency but which are frequently at odds with the private lives and responsibilities of Australian men and women. This particularly applies to work and family responsibilities. One of the consequences for women of the incongruencies in workplace and family arrangements is discrimination and workforce disadvantage.

This Chapter explores the nature of workplace disadvantage experienced by women as a result of maternity. It also considers paid maternity leave as a work related entitlement and how a national scheme of paid maternity leave ensures fairness of this entitlement across the workforce.

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7.2 Sex discrimination in employment

Women continue to experience employment discrimination based on their sex, pregnancy or family responsibilities. For example, women are often dismissed, demoted or harassed when they become pregnant. [389] When women experience sex discrimination there are legal provisions in place to provide a remedy. Australia currently has legislation that makes employment discrimination on the basis of sex and pregnancy unlawful. At the federal level, the relevant legislation is the Sex Discrimination Act. [390] The Sex Discrimination Act also prevents dismissal of employees on the basis of their family responsibilities. Industrial and workplace relations legislation gives pregnant employees protection against dismissal, and guarantees non-casual employees a right to return to their employment after a period of unpaid maternity leave. [391]

Despite these protections, women continue to experience discrimination and unfavourable treatment at work when they become pregnant, give birth and return to work. In the 2001-2002 year, pregnancy and family responsibilities discrimination complaints to HREOC made up 32 per cent of all complaints under the Sex Discrimination Act. [392] In addition, many complaints of sex discrimination concern issues relating to family responsibilities.

Other complaints and advisory bodies reported to HREOC that discrimination against employed women because of childbirth or child-rearing responsibilities remains a serious problem. The Anti-Discrimination Board of New South Wales wrote that women in their child bearing years face "… serious and significant sex discrimination and harassment in employment". [393]

This discrimination commonly takes the form of lower remuneration for women, demotion, failure to be appointed or promoted, dismissal actual or constructive, due to potential pregnancy, pregnancy and post pregnancy return to work issues. Women continue to face discrimination the grounds of their carer's and family responsibilities for many years after the birth of a child. [394]

The New South Wales Working Women's Centre also expressed concern about the level of discrimination against women because of maternity, stating that their research indicates women in paid work are:

… continuing to experience difficulties during pregnancy, whilst on maternity leave and during the return to work, as attested by the 17% of calls to the Centre in the past year … This is despite existing provisions for statutory unpaid maternity leave in conjunction with remedies against discrimination on the grounds of pregnancy, sex and family responsibilities, as well as unfair dismissal … [395]

Similarly, the Queensland Working Women's Service wrote that their Service:

… frequently receives complaints from women who have been dismissed from their employment due to their pregnancy. Often women are unable to prove that this is the case but have a strong sense that things changed for them at work when it became known that they were pregnant. Currently some workers are excluded from the right to claim for unfair dismissal in these circumstances. We consider that paid maternity leave will assist in redressing some of the disadvantage that women face due to their childbearing role. [396]

These submissions support HREOC's concern that the incidence of discrimination against pregnant women and women with family responsibilities remains unacceptably high.

Anti-discrimination legislation is crucial in protecting women's interests at work, but it is aimed at providing a remedy for individuals who have suffered disadvantage through specific acts or practices in their workplaces. By itself, anti-discrimination legislation cannot eliminate discrimination that is generalised, diffuse and systemic. The Work + Family Policy Research Group at Sydney University submitted that current anti-discrimination legislation is insufficient to overcome gender inequities.

Australia's system of social justice has recognised since the 1970s that specific measures are necessary to overcome the inequities experienced by women in the workforce. Yet, despite anti-discrimination legislation and pay equity initiatives, it is quite well established that Australian women still experience significant disadvantage in the workplace. While there is a range of reasons for this, key to overcoming the continuing inequity is attending to the economic disruption caused by taking leave without pay to bear and care for children. [397]

Some submissions considered that paid maternity leave would complement existing anti-discrimination laws in addressing sex discrimination in employment. The New South Wales Public Service Association wrote that:

… a scheme of paid maternity leave for women workers is consistent with national objectives of anti-discrimination and support for workers with family responsibilities as articulated in federal legislation. [398]

The Independent Education Union pointed out the social significance of anti-discrimination legislation, which "… represents the nation's community standards …" That submission argued that paid maternity leave would have a similar "… ethical and social justice significance …" [399]

However, the submission from the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry questioned the relevance of discrimination to the paid maternity leave issue, saying that figures demonstrating a high incidence of pregnancy discrimination "… do nothing to justify a new entitlement, nor do they show that the current system is not working - arguably precisely the opposite". [400] That submission stated that:

[a]ny unequal treatment of women in the workplace based on their role in bearing and caring for children can and should be addressed using anti-discrimination options at the state and federal level. [401]

In HREOC's view, the ongoing discrimination against women in paid work is an indication that additional action is required to address sex discrimination in employment and to promote changes to attitudes and behaviour. Policies such as paid maternity leave can make a positive contribution to addressing this goal.

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7.3 Women's workplace disadvantage

The historical development of modern society has seen remuneration restricted to tasks performed in the public domain. As such, the bearing and raising of children, as a function designated to the private domain, receives no remuneration. These functions are primarily performed by women, who as a result find themselves with less economic security than their male counterparts. Joan Williams has pointed out that structures which support male patterns of work disadvantage women.

[M]arket work continues to be structured in ways that perpetuate the economic vulnerability of caregivers. Their vulnerability stems from our definition of the ideal worker as someone who works at least forty hours a week year round. This ideal-worker norm, framed around the traditional life patterns of men, excludes most mothers of childbearing age. [402]

This is not to suggest that women cannot be in paid work and renumerated accordingly. As noted by the Union Research Centre on Organisation and Technology, "[w]omen can be mothers and workers just as men can be fathers and workers. Yet the implications of such situations for women and men are vastly different". [403] Although the male breadwinner model of family structure is no longer the situation in most families, "… the arrangements for work in many industries are still based on these working relationships". [404] The majority of women therefore earn less, have lower retirement incomes and are more likely to be welfare dependent than men. [405]

As argued in the submission from Marty Grace:

… because of the historical development of our institutions, practices are built on a gendered division of labour, and the fiction of separate public and private spheres … We want to change the rules to enable us to be both the workers and the parents we want to be. [406]

It is not only women who are disadvantaged by working within this gendered structure. It is important to bear in mind that the gender roles within which we all work disadvantage men as well as women.

The commonplace observation is that women are hurt by the hard choices they face. Once the focus shifts away from women's choices to the gender system that sets the frame within which those choices occur, we can see that domesticity's peculiar structuring of market work and family work hurts not only women but also men, children, politics and our emotional life. [407]

Many submissions pointed out that women's inequality is not only caused by individual acts of sex discrimination, but general, entrenched and ongoing workplace disadvantage. While many women choose unpaid work in the home, this choice should not mean that they are treated unfairly when they enter the paid workforce or that their home-based work should be undervalued.

One of the key reasons given in submissions for women's unequal status in relation to men is their disproportionate participation in unpaid and underpaid work. For example, Karen Simmer, from the Neonatology Clinical Care Unit of the University of Western Australia, noted that women's responsibility for childbirth and rearing prevents them from reaching positions of seniority in employment.

Girls in schools do well, often better than boys. However, in most professions and businesses, few women have progressed to the higher levels. One of the main and clearly obvious reasons for this is women take time off to have children and never return to the workforce in the same capacity or with the same opportunities as those without children or a man with children. This is an indisputable fact and overwhelmingly obvious to any working mother. For the sake of our daughters, we need to campaign vigorously to help them have the options and choices to continue work after they have children, if they so choose to do so. [408]

The Queensland Working Women's Service linked women's key role in child care to women's wages, promotions and workforce participation.

There are many reasons why gender inequality persists but we can link much of this to the social, economic and biological effect of childbirth and child rearing. Women still bear much of the responsibilities of family and child caring. When we examine women's wages, promotions and workforce participation we find that in child-bearing years women's employment suffers. The birth of a child imposes immediate financial pressures on women and their families and often results in their dislocation from work and impedes their future work experience. In order to advance equity, security and human dignity women workers need to be able to resolve the problems associated with childbearing and workforce participation. [409]

The Australian Council of Trade Unions wrote: "[p]ut simply, men can become parents without disrupting their work, women cannot". [410] Some of the general disadvantage or systemic discrimination that women face was summed up in a submission from the YWCA of Victoria.

Women experience discrimination in relation to employment in many ways, including the concentration of women in particular sectors or industries which are relatively low paying, the continuing comparative lack of women in senior management, the concentration of women working in the informal sector and as casual employees, and difficulties for women in securing employment that is flexible and responsive to their roles as parents and carers. [411]

A few submissions questioned whether systemic discrimination is a continuing problem for women today. One submission, from the National Women's Council of South Australia, noted that:

[l]atest surveys of women identify that the majority of professional women no longer believe that concepts like "glass ceilings" are hampering their progress but rather they are mostly disadvantaged by their own insecurities and personal constraints. It is too easy to rely on this old (and tired) observation [about systemic discrimination] as an excuse and women themselves are realising that. [412]

Another argued that since women are responsible for making choices that have an adverse impact on their lives, "[t]he systemic discrimination is within the female culture rather than the workforce". [413]

However, almost all submissions recognised, either implicitly or explicitly, that women do suffer workplace disadvantage and discrimination as a result of their responsibilities for bearing and caring for children. These submissions, discussed below, all suggested that women's continued disadvantage is an issue that needs further attention and remedy.

The National Tertiary Education Union viewed paid maternity leave as a means of combating workplace disadvantage.

Women in work face unique disadvantage, including employment discrimination, lack of access to career progression and low wages compared with their male counterparts. This disadvantage is often exacerbated greatly if a woman chooses to have a child. Paid maternity leave for working women is one way to combat this kind of overall disadvantage for women … [414]

One union submitted that the positive benefits of introducing paid maternity leave include "[c]losing the gender pay inequity gap …" and "… address[ing] systemic discrimination and disadvantage suffered by women when they seek to balance child-bearing and paid work". [415] As one individual wrote, "[w]omen need to be encouraged to be mothers and take their place in the workforce without being disadvantaged". [416]

Workplace disadvantage distorts or changes the choices people will make. Often the cost of this is borne by the community, and not just the individual. HREOC believes that paid maternity leave is one small element in the endeavour to restructure our working arrangements to better accommodate the needs of mothers and their families and in particular new born babies. It also provides compensation for the disadvantage women suffer under current arrangements for family formation. [417]

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7.4 Fairness for all employees

A number of submissions were concerned that some women in the workforce currently have access to paid maternity leave while the majority do not. This is an important issue for HREOC, raising basic principles of fairness and the need for all women to be able to recover from birth and establish a relationship with their new babies. The uneven provision of paid maternity leave is akin to providing paid sick leave to only some workers and not to others.

The objective of ensuring that women have a financially secure period of time out of the workforce in order to recover from childbirth should be met for all women in paid work. The issue of equity applies not just to each woman's right to recover from the birth of her child without returning to work prematurely for financial reasons, but also to the right of each child to have access to their mother in the weeks immediately following child birth without financial pressure forcing their separation.

As set out at 3.3 the existing arrangements for paid maternity leave in Australia are inadeqate. Over 60 per cent of female employees do not have access to paid maternity leave. [418] Further, the current spread of paid maternity leave through the Australian workforce is uneven. Whether any particular employee will have access to paid maternity leave will depend on the type of organisation and industry she works in, as well as her occupation and employment status.

Women working in smaller organisations and the private sector are more limited in their access to paid maternity leave, compared to women working in the public sector and larger organisations.

Highly skilled women in full time work have greater access to paid maternity leave than women in more marginal employment, with lower skills, who are in part time or casual work. Fifty-one per cent of women in full time work, 21 per cent of women in part time work and 0.4 per cent of women in casual employment reported that they had access to paid maternity leave. [419]

Sixty-five per cent of managers and administrators and 54 per cent of professionals had access to paid maternity leave. In contrast only 18 per cent of elementary clerical, sales and service workers and 21 per cent of labourers and related workers had access to paid maternity leave. [420]

HREOC is of the strong view that the market and enterprise bargaining have failed to provide fair access for all employees to paid maternity leave and do not reflect the social benefits of children, and raising children. A maternity leave payment "based on the luck of the draw is likely to further entrench the divisions between the "haves and have nots". [421] As one woman commented to HREOC:

If people are left to negotiate their own conditions of employment sometimes you do well and sometimes you don't. There are some professions which traditionally do very poorly, such as teachers, nurses and childcare workers, anything that is female dominated. [422]

As noted in the submission by Lyn Collins and Barbara Pocock:

[h]aving a paid maternity break depends on which workplace you happen to be in at the time of the birth, on the random generosity of your employer, or on the assertiveness of your union. [423]

Another woman noted her resentment at the different treatment of women in different sectors.

I watch the news and I see the stories about the women who work in a bank and get all this paid maternity leave and I think: what makes you so bloody special? What makes you giving birth to a baby any more special than me. What makes your baby worth more than mine? [424]

Several submissions argued that paid maternity leave was particularly important as a protection for the most vulnerable groups of women workers, who were affected by multiple forms of discrimination or disadvantage. These included women on low incomes, from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander or non-English speaking backgrounds and in insecure employment. [425] BPW New South Wales asserted that the provision of a paid maternity leave scheme would "… be a necessity over the coming years as we see more women being forced to make the choice of a career over family just to survive". [426] This point was also raised in consultations with HREOC, where it was argued that paid maternity leave would increase the status of the most disadvantaged workers.

[I]f you are the person who pulls the entrails out of the chicken on the processing line you don't have choice, but if you get recognition through paid maternity leave you have a status that you never had before and you can engage in a way with your community in a very different way because you are recognised. It's very easy to have women in professional work talk about choice but the majority of women in Australia work part time/casual and they don't have that. This provides a dignity, a status, a recognition of the work done. [427]

The submission of Immigrant Women's Speakout pointed out that some groups of employed immigrant and refugee women are much more likely than Australian-born employed women to have children. It argues that these patterns are significant in considering paid maternity leave. [428] The Ethnic Communities' Council of Victoria drew together issues of the relative disadvantage of women from non-English speaking backgrounds and their greater levels of casual or intermittent employment to emphasise the need for a scheme of paid maternity leave to ensure equitable coverage for all workers. [429]

The issues and difficulties faced by Indigenous women need to be specifically addressed in relation to a paid maternity leave scheme as noted in the submission from the New South Wales Working Women's Centre.

[F]rom the Centre's own work with women from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds, we can report a concentration in certain industries (community services and health in particular - with a higher level of project-based fixed-term employment) in the lower-skilled and lower-paid occupations. [430]

Disruptions to women's paid work can be the cause of workplace vulnerability as women are more likely than men to be casual or part time workers, with fewer entitlements. A significant number of submissions were concerned about the lack of paid maternity leave currently available to women in part time and casual work or contract based employment who together constitute almost half the workforce. Existing paid maternity leave provisions are usually restricted to women in permanent full time work. A national scheme of paid maternity leave can offset this disadvantage.

Despite the fact that there has been a rise in the participation rates for women in the workforce they remain the primary care givers of children. That is one of the reasons that women in South Australia are over represented in part time and casual work and do not have equal access to minimum leave entitlements. If women are to improve their participation in the workforce in permanent and higher paying occupations it will be important that a total package of family support is available. Paid maternity leave is one part of such a package. [431]

A union argued that "[o]ur members are predominantly low income workers, and few have access to benefits such as paid maternity leave for reasons of poor job security and high casual employment". [432]

The Hawke Institute submitted that:

[i]ncreasingly women make up a considerable proportion of part time, casual and contract workforce. Unless the entitlement is extended to all workers, both full and part time, the policy would risk exacerbating the horizontal segregation which is already a worrying feature of the Australian workforce, especially in relation to gender based disadvantage. [433]

Concern was also expressed about the need for self employed women to have access to paid maternity leave. The National Pay Equity Coalition noted that:

[b]usinesses carried out by self-employed people are almost by definition small and generate low incomes. The people who run them have limited capacity to save for the costs and foregone income of maternity. It may be that for some businesses the need to take time off without income and without a capacity to engage someone else to replace the work of the self-employed person would cause the demise of the business. [434]

The International President of the Federation of BPW, also highlighted the need for self employed women to have access to paid maternity leave.

Women who own their own business are no less entitled to the benefit than those in the employed workforce and as business owners, incur expenses in keeping their business running whilst they are caring for the baby. [435]

HREOC agrees that any national scheme of paid maternity leave should ensure that all women in paid work should, so far as practicable, have equivalent access.

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7.5 Balancing work and family responsibilities

Increased workforce participation of women has not been accompanied by men significantly increasing their responsibilities in caring for and raising children. [436] The result is that women retain the major responsibility for caring for children as well as participating in the paid workforce.

Many of those consulted expressed a desire to see men more able to share in family responsibilities. There was almost unanimous agreement that this would be beneficial for children, women and men.

As observed by the women's organisation Mothers of In(ter)vention, "… men need to lift their game in the home, but their workplaces need to allow time to be there enough to do so". [437]

In addition to the concern that men be able to contribute more to family life, several submissions observed how difficult the management of work and family balance is for women and that frequently women are discouraged from attempting it.

The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association surveyed its members nationally and found that, of those mothers who did not return to work following the birth of a child, 25 per cent said that they wanted to stay home and 19 per cent went to a different employer. The others appear to have been deterred from returning because of structural biases and disincentives including 22 per cent who said that suitable hours could not be arranged, and others who believed that achieving a work-life balance was too difficult, that satisfactory childcare was not available, and that the economic benefits of work were not "worth the hassle". [438]

In those submissions concerned with achieving a better work and family balance, paid maternity leave was considered to be only part of the solution. Employers and employer organisations noted that employers already provide a complex array of family assistance to their employees.

Australian Business Industrial noted that "… for employers, the obligations to their employees with family responsibilities do not cease with the provision of paid maternity leave". [439] This submission asserted that "[m]aternity leave can only be considered as one of a suite of measures to enable a work-family balance". [440]

Even so, many submissions and consultations considered paid maternity leave to be an essential part of these work and family policy suites. The Illawarra Forum and the Illawarra Women's Health Centre, for example, asserted that paid maternity leave "… would provide one part of a whole series of entitlements that ultimately lead to family friendly employment structures". [441]

In a consultation held with employer groups in Melbourne, it was stated that:

[p]aid maternity leave is a very important issue as it addresses the work/family issue … more effectively. It is a structural change. [442]

As BPW Australia noted, a scheme of paid maternity leave "… needs to be part of a long-term plan for supporting Australians to balance their work and family commitments". [443]

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7.6 Conclusion

Women experience sex discrimination and workplace disadvantage as a result of maternity. While not a total solution, paid maternity leave can contribute to overcoming these barriers. HREOC considers that access to a financially secure period out of the workforce in order to recover from child birth should be a basic right for women. The current ad hoc arrangements for paid maternity leave are unfair and further disadvantage the most vulnerable women in the workforce. A national scheme of paid maternity leave will extend access to paid leave across the workforce. Paid maternity leave will also make it easier for women to combine work and family responsibilities.

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8. Equality

8.1 Introduction

A significant number of submissions raised the issues of equality, equity and discrimination. The majority of these submissions expressed concern about women's equality and advocated paid maternity leave as a means of achieving equality between men and women.

CEDAW, to which Australia is a party, is based on the principle of equality of men and women. This involves "… the participation of women, on equal terms with men, in the political, social, economic and cultural life of their countries". [444]

Equality in this context is more than simply ensuring women's economic security or eliminating discrimination against women in employment due to their child bearing role. Achieving equality involves "… the maximum participation of women on equal terms with men in all fields". [445]

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8.2 Paid maternity leave as an equality issue

Paid maternity leave is one measure that supports women moving between work in the home and the world of paid employment. In international conventions, paid maternity leave is proposed as a means of addressing workplace discrimination and promoting equality between men and women. [446] The International Labour Organization states that a principle objective of paid maternity leave is "… to further promote equality of all women in the workforce". [447]

Many submissions placed gender equality or non-discrimination principles as one of the primary objectives of any paid maternity leave scheme. For example, one submission stated that "[n]o civilised country, which regards equality between the sexes as important, could neglect to address paid maternity leave". [448] The Centre for Applied Social Research suggested that "[e]xplicitly naming gender equality as an objective of the proposed paid maternity leave scheme may also help address the 'motherhood' discrimination that exists in the workforce". [449]

As the Queensland Working Women's Service wrote:

[t]he primary objectives of a paid maternity leave scheme should be to further facilitate equity for women, through recognition of their needs and choices around