Improving maternal health and reducing child mortality are among the eight UN Millennium Development Goals. This publication contains guidance on maternity protection in the workplace, focusing on measures that can be taken to establish a decent workplace and to identify workplace risks. The starting point is the Maternity Protection Convention (No. 183), adopted by the International Labour Conference in 2000 and its accompanying Recommendation (No. 191). The guide is intended for general use as a reference tool for employers, workers, trade union leaders, occupation health and safety advisors, labour inspectors and others involved in workplace health and maternity protection.

This report provides a picture of where we stand and what we have learned so far about maternity and paternity rights across the world. It offers a rich international comparative analysis of law and practice relating to maternity protection at work in 185 countries and territories, comprising leave, cash benefits, employment protection and non-discrimination, health protection, breastfeeding arrangements at work and childcare. Expanding on previous editions, it is based on an extensive set of new legal and statistical indicators, including coverage in law and in practice of paid maternity leave as well as statutory provision of paternity and parental leave and their evolution over the last 20 years. The report also takes account of the recent economic crisis and austerity measures. It shows how well national laws and practice conform to the ILO Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 (No. 183), its accompanying Recommendation (No. 191) and the Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention, 1981 (No. 156), and offers guidance on policy design and implementation. This report shows that a majority of countries have established legislation to protect and support maternity and paternity at work, even if those provisions do not always meet the ILO standards. One of the persistent challenges is the effective implementation of legislation, to ensure that all workers are able to benefit from these essential labour rights.

The transformation of women's lives over the past century is among the most significant and far-reaching of social and economic phenomena, affecting not only women but also their partners, children, and indeed nearly every person on the planet. In developed and developing countries alike, women are acquiring more education, marrying later, having fewer children, and spending a far greater amount of their adult lives in the labor force. Yet, because women remain the primary caregivers of children, issues such as work-life balance and the glass ceiling have given rise to critical policy discussions in the developed world. In developing countries, many women lack access to reproductive technology and are often relegated to jobs in the informal sector, where pay is variable and job security is weak. Considerable occupational segregation and stubborn gender pay gaps persist around the world. The Oxford Handbook of Women and the Economy is the first comprehensive collection of scholarly essays to address these issues using the powerful framework of economics. Each chapter, written by an acknowledged expert or team of experts, reviews the key trends, surveys the relevant economic theory, and summarizes and critiques the empirical research literature. By providing a clear-eyed view of what we know, what we do not know, and what the critical unanswered questions are, this Handbook provides an invaluable and wide-ranging examination of the many changes that have occurred in women's economic lives.

2nd version of a 1994 publication.

Although proven effective in protecting pregnancy, giving birth and breastfeeding – that is, the biological differences of women related to maternity – the current European Union (EU) legislative framework on maternity leave tends to overlook the roles of both parents, especially during the post-delivery period of ‘bonding’ with the child. This framework, along with EU law on parental leave, which does not encourage an equal take-up of the leave, gives rise to serious issues of gender equality affecting both men and women. This deeply researched and urgent book proposes alternative options for future EU law on child-related leave which can be applied to both employees and self-employed workers to mitigate these limitations and side effects. Analysing the various EU Directives which, directly or indirectly, relate to maternity leave, paternity leave, adoption leave and parental leave, as well as the corresponding case law of the Court of Justice of the EU, the author uses a social risk approach and tackles the following issues: narrow focus of the legislation on the delivering mother’s incapacity to work; in practice, excessive emphasis on the protection of the delivering mother; silent assent to the unequal distribution of caring responsibilities within the family; lack of attention to women’s labour market outcomes; and the new direction followed by the recently adopted Directive on work-life balance. The research focuses on working parents (including non-delivering parents in same-sex couples or adoption) and includes a comparative analysis of the law of six countries – Belgium, Ireland, Spain, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Portugal – chosen to illustrate the variety of national schemes available and how their desirable features can be introduced into EU law. A more balanced design of child-related leave is a must in today’s society for reasons of fairness and also for economic considerations. This complete analysis of EU legislation and case law about child-related leave – including the first-ever systematic and in-depth analysis on whether maternity leave can be considered discriminatory against fathers and a review of economic literature on how child-related leave affects the situation of women in the labour market – offers forward-looking solutions for child-related leave to enhance gender equality. Practitioners and nongovernmental organisations dealing with EU and national matters related to labour and employment law, social security law and gender equality law will welcome this important book, as will academics and policymakers interested in maternity and other child-related leaves.

Maternity leave is a complex issue, both personally and professionally. And, more often than not, policy differs from practice. Based on interviews that highlight the perspectives and perceptions of new mothers, Maternity Leave: Policy and Practice examines the disconnect between maternity leave policy and practice. It presents the history and development of maternity leave policies and related legislation, and then provides a fresh perspective for understanding through individual interviews of women who recently utilized maternity leave. The book also examines themes and patterns developed from the interviews, such as inconsistencies in administration of maternity leave policies, timing, transition back to work, child care, breastfeeding and pumping, and unmet needs and professional concerns. It also gives a voice to those who are absent from the core interviews—women who have children at a young age, men who utilize paternity leave, women in same-sex relationships who start families, and women who choose not to have children. The book highlights why some colleagues may be unsupportive of the utilization of maternity leave. A single-source guide to understanding maternity leave, the book contains a wealth of information, including an overview of legislation related to pregnancy and maternity leave; trends in birth rates, fertility rates, employment patterns, and the relationship to the types of maternity leave offered and taken; issues related to maternal health; an international comparison of policies; and practical recommendations for policy and organizational change. It not only offers a comprehensive and complete understanding of the complexities of maternity leave, both in policy and in practice, but also practical recommendations for policy and organizational change.

In this comprehensive, wide-ranging analysis, Susan Lehrer investigates the origins of protective labor legislation for women, exposing the social forces that contributed to its passage and the often contradictory effects it had on those it was designed to protect. A rapidly expanding female work force is prompting both employers and society to rethink attitudes and policies toward working women. Lehrer provides critical insight into current issues affecting female employees--pay equity, equal rights, maternity--that have their roots in past debates about and present realities affecting women workers. Protective labor laws enacted from 1905 to 1925 had the effect of delimiting the position of working women. Lehrer examines the relationship between women's work in the labor force and domestic labor, and the reasons why the government was interested in regulating this relationship. Focusing on the dual need for a continuing labor force (women as producers of children) and cheap labor (women in low-paying jobs), she demonstrates the way in which social reforms worked to the advantage of capitalism even though they materially aided subordinate classes. The principal groups considered herein are social reform organizations (suffragists and the Women's Trade Union League), organized labor (AFL, ILGWU, printing trades' unions), and employers' associations (National Association of Manufacturers and the National Civic Federation). Considered together, this book provides a broad and detailed picture of the forces involved in the issues of protective labor legislation.

For many women in their 20's and 30's, the greatest professional hurdle they'll need to overcome has little to do with their work life. The most focused, confident, and ambitious women can find themselves derailed by a tiny little thing: a new baby. While more workplaces are espousing family-friendly cultures, women are still subject to a "parenting penalty" and high-profile conflicts between parenting and the workplace are all over the news: from the controversy over companies covering the costs of egg-freezing to the debate over parental leave and childcare inspired by Marissa Mayer's policies at Yahoo. Here's the Plan offers an inventive and inspiring roadmap for working mothers steering their careers through the parenting years. Author Allyson Downey, founder of weeSpring, the "Yelp for baby products,” and mother of two young children advises readers on all practical aspects of ladder-climbing while parenting, such as negotiating leave, flex time, and promotions. In the style of #GIRLBOSS or Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office, Here's the Plan is the definitive guide for ambitious mothers, written by one working mother to another.