Maternity Leave

Arbeitspapier

Supporting working mothers to balance their work and childcare responsibilities is a central objective of maternal and parental leave policies. Nearly all countries offer some forms of maternity and family leave programs for childbearing on a national basis. This chapter reviews various types of leave policies available for working mothers (or parents) across countries and whether and how the policies affect women's labor market outcomes, their own and children's health, and child development. The leave policies can also influence women's fertility choices, as well as household specialization and husbands' labor supply. Recent studies also note the potential impacts on employers and coworkers of mothers who are on leave. One message that this chapter draws from the vast literature - with diverse and, in some instances, contradictory findings - is that policy debates should not center around whether or not governments should offer paid leave; rather they should focus on how to design more efficient or optimal leave programs. This chapter discusses some preliminary lessons for designing a leave program.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: GLO Discussion Paper ; No. 1184

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents: Household ; Health Behavior ; Health: Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health ; Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure ; Time Allocation and Labor Supply ; Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination ; Labor Discrimination ; Labor Discrimination: Public Policy ; Time Allocation and Labor Supply ; Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure; Domestic Abuse ; Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth ; Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs: Public Policy ; Labor Standards: Workers' Rights ; Labor Standards: Public Policy ; Family and Personal Law
• Subject: maternity leave ; parental leave ; gender role ; birth outcomes ; breastfeeding ; infant health ; children's outcomes ; mothers' health ; labor supply ; fertility ; divorce

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Regmi, Krishna ; Wang, Le
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Global Labor Organization (GLO)
• (where): Essen
• (when): 2022

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/265367
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:42 AM CET