Project (M.A.) - Simon Fraser University, 2006. / Theses (Dept. of Economics) / Simon Fraser University. Senior supervisor : Dr. Krishna Pendakur.

Maternity leave policy has changed a few times over the last 20 years in Brazil. This dissertation investigates how a ceiling imposed on the maternity leave benefit paid by Brazilian Social Security in Dec, 1998 and its temporary suspension in May, 1999 affected females' employment and earnings using difference-in-difference method. We apply the difference-in-difference method to examine whether the changes in maternity leave policy negatively affected females in the labor market. Our analysis uses four treatment groups: 1) young females, aged 20 to 40 years; 2) young females working in the private sector; 3) older females, aged 41 to 65 years, working in the private sector; and 4) young females with infants. Young females were selected based on the fact that they have a higher probability of giving birth compared to older females and, consequently, using the maternity leave benefit. The second and third groups were supposedly the groups directly reached by these changes in maternity leave policy since earnings and employment in the public sector should not be based on an individual's gender and therefore discrimination may be absent or less prevalent there than in the private sector. We also include young females with infants as a treatment group since employers may use this information to infer the probability of a female having another child. We also propose four control groups: 1) older females aged between 41 and 65 years; 2) young females working in the public sector; 3) older females working in the public sector; and 4) young males. Overall, our results show that the limit imposed on maternity leave benefits paid by Social Security and the transfer of the responsibility of paying the remaining wages to employers negatively affected females' hourly wages, and this negative effect seems to have persisted even while the limit was temporarily suspended. Furthermore, young females were more affected by the change in policy than older females. These results lead us to think that these changes in maternity leave policy may have slowed the convergence of females' wages toward males' wages or "forced" females to swim upstream during the period from May 1999 to March 2003.

In South African law, childbearing is not a right for working women. A few mother takes maternity leave at her own risk. She has no legal guarantee of getting her job back. With high unemployment she may not find another job at all.

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In the context of population ageing and its consequences for future welfare state support, the issue of low fertility in Europe has become very topical over the past two decades. The role of policy and gender equality in explaining fertility behaviour has gained a prominent position in the literature and even today represents two streams that are believed to be important predictors of the current fertility outcomes in Europe. When building arguments regarding the policy effects on fertility behaviour, authors often implicitly assume that everyone living in a given country is entitled to support from particular statutory policy and/or that each individual is entitled to the same amount of support. However, although everyone of reproductive age is likely to make a decision about having children, the policy support does not mean the same thing for each one of them. Instead the set of rules on eligibility conditions clearly states who is entitled to welfare state support and how extensive this support is going to be. These rules consequently mediate the impact a child is going to have on an individual’s circumstances and therefore may influence the decision of whether or when to start a family and how big this family is going to be. The issue of within-country variation in the distribution of entitlements to policy support has been largely ignored in the comparative welfare state literature and has not been sufficiently acknowledged in fertility research. By focusing on the birth-related leave schemes in Europe, this thesis aims to address this gap. It does so by linking the individual-level survey data from EU-SILC with legislative rules from 27 European countries. Such an approach allows the identification of individuals that would be entitled to birth-related leave and compares how their socio-economic situation would change if they were to have a child. Apart from that the thesis is set into a wider context of contemporary fertility research that examines the role of gender issues in fertility behaviour. As such the thesis is particularly interested in the distribution of entitlements to birth-related leave between men and women and in the analyses pays special attention to the policy designs that strengthen traditional gender roles and whether they are associated with fertility behaviour.

Currently in Australia, 80% of women are employed during first pregnancy, and 40% resume employment in the postpartum. The first aim of this study was to identify which of a broad range of factors, including maternal preferences, maternal separation anxiety and maternity entitlements, contributed to maternal employment in the first 10 postpartum. The second aim was to identify the contribution of women’s satisfaction with employment arrangements to their psychological well-being. Participants were 165 employed pregnant women over 18 years of age and with sufficient English for completion of study materials, systematically recruited in the third trimester of pregnancy. Data were collected in pregnancy and at 3 and 10 months postpartum. Maternal preferences, not or no longer breastfeeding and lower maternal separation anxiety were associated with significantly increased likelihood of resuming postpartum employment when maternal age, educational attainment and occupational status were controlled for. A constellation of adverse employment conditions made independent contributions to measurably worse maternal mood including experiencing sexual discrimination in pregnancy, no maternity entitlements when known determinants of poorer maternal well-being were controlled in regression analyses. These findings provide evidence about the relevance of structural determinants to maternal well-being, and highlight the urgency of a national paid parental leave scheme in Australia.

Corporate culture does not allow for talented women to return to the workplace or continue to operate effectively in the workplace whilst managing their domestic responsibilities. This is directly influencing the retention and progression into senior positions of female talent (Baggallay, 2011). While the above statement may be a narrow view considering shifts in many companies' policies aimed at supporting work-family balance, working mothers still have many concerns. Some of these concerns have been highlighted by the participants in this study, and confirm the need to better understand the challenges faced by female employees returning to work after maternity leave. The primary purpose of this study is to identify common themes arising from South African female employees' experience of returning to work following maternity, and to ultimately gain an understanding of the interests of both mothers in the workplace and employers looking to retain and nurture top female talent. The results of this study revealed that, despite viewing work positively, the participants found that returning to work after childbirth was difficult. A significant change in the attitudes of the participants towards their careers after childbirth was also found. This change is not necessarily negative and should not be interpreted as an indication of employees' loss of interest in their careers; it does, however, highlight the need for adequate management of the "workplace pregnancy" to ensure that female employees return to work. Employers who are open to the evolution of best practice for maternity leave, the management of family responsibilities, and striking a balance between employee productivity and fulfilment will position themselves as an employer of choice, thereby attracting high-calibre talent. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Human Resource Management / unrestricted

While the transition back to work following maternity leave is a stage of a woman’s career that can have significant impact on the rest of her working life, this remains an under-researched topic. The current study examines mothers’ return to work experiences, with a specific focus on the downgrading to their jobs they encounter, perceived as demotions, which no previous study has pursued. Drawing from research investigating mothers’ psychological contracts and their turnover intentions, the current study examines the relationship between demotions, psychological contract violation and employment outcomes. Also of interest was whether psychological contract violation initiated a process of grieving, as mothers struggled to separate from their identities as valued employees. In-depth interviews were conducted with eight mothers. Mothers who perceived their restructured jobs as demotions experienced psychological contract violations in response, and also described emotions consistent with a process of grieving. However, not all mothers who experienced psychological contract breach or violation quit their jobs. Implications for working mothers and for future research are discussed. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

New Jersey is one of only three states in the United States offering a paid maternity leave benefit beyond temporary disability insurance at the present time. Understanding the impact of state maternity leave policies on low-income mothers is of particular urgency, since previous research suggests this group is less likely to utilize paid leave than wealthier women. In addition, existing literature also suggests that in a poverty environment, with its already existing vulnerability to social, emotional, cognitive, and health impairments, rapid return to work postpartum may be particularly damaging to the physical and emotional health of both mothers and their babies. This study examines the effectiveness of the New Jersey law mandating payments to postpartum mothers who were employed before giving birth. Using a mixed methods approach, outcomes from high- and low-income mothers were compared regarding the usage and impact of Family Leave Insurance (FLI), New Jersey’s paid family leave policy. For the quantitative study, data from 497 postpartum mothers from the Center for Disease Control’s 2012 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) data set were analyzed. For the qualitative study, three high- and three low-income mothers from the same New Jersey county were interviewed in depth, and six narrative profiles were constructed. Data from the qualitative and quantitative analyses were combined. Consistent with existing literature, quantitative results suggested poor FLI utilization. However, there was no significant association (p > .05) between low-income status (household income under $22,000) and FLI usage. A statistically significant (p < .05) association between FLI usage and postpartum depression in low-income mothers was noted. Qualitative findings supplemented and explained the quantitative results. The qualitative data suggested policy underutilization stemmed from poor public awareness due to inadequate publicity, lack of community education, and poor advisement on the part of human resource personnel and New Jersey Department of Labor of Workforce Development call-in center advisors. Results also suggest that if parameters of FLI and the awareness of the policy remain the same, the benefits existing research associates with paid maternity leave will not be fully reaped by New Jersey families.

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