Paid maternity leave good for women's careers

Based on Australia's experiences with maternity leave, NFAW rebuts recent UK media reports saying that paid maternity leave adversely impacts women's careers.

This concept has no application in Australia. Unlike the UK, Australian women have had access to 12 months unpaid maternity leave for many years. Currently Australian women take an average of 10 months out of the workforce after the birth of a child.

NFAW does not expect an increase in discrimination against women at work as a result of changing unpaid maternity leave to paid maternity leave.

Women in the Australian Public Service have enjoyed generous paid maternity leave schemes for thirty years. The recent State of the Service Report shows that there has been significant growth in women at Executive and Senior Executive levels who now make up 43.5% and 36.1% of public servants at those levels respectively.

Australian employers already work with safeguards provided for women by the Equal Opportunity in the Workplace Act and the Sex Discrimination Act. For example, the Sex Discrimination Act protects women who are returning to work after childbirth.

In the UK, equal opportunity laws have recently been brought into line with the European Union, where standards have been more generous for many years. UK employers have not had the on-going education provided to Australian employers by both the Sex Discrimination Act and the Equal Opportunity in the Workplace Act.

Moreover, the UK system does not provide equal treatment for men and women, as do the successful Scandinavian schemes.

The Australian Productivity Commission's current inquiry is exploring the options for paid maternal, paternal and parental leave. Their draft report is due in September 2008.

NFAW, with a number of other groups, is arguing for a minimum of six month's paid leave (including leave for fathers as well as mothers). NFAW has also raised the argument that there is a strong case for following the lead of the Swedish Government, and offering twelve months of paid parental leave. This is likely to have better outcomes for infants than other models.

The Australian Senate also is currently holding an inquiry into the Sex Discrimination Act. NFAW and other NGOs are collaborating on a submission to this Inquiry and looks forward to further discussions on how to continue to reduce discrimination on the grounds of gender in Australia.

Media inquiries to Marie Coleman (mobile 0414 483 067)