Motherhood is a natural gift bestowed upon women by nature (or God given if you like). But in several cultures motherhood has also become an issue of undue contention against women.
There are many reported cases of newly married women not being hired for employment for fear of potential pregnancy and soon being absent from job (having to give leave - paid or unpaid); there are cases where pregnant women are not recommended during job interviews for the same reason. Such discrimination aside, provision of maternity leave for working women is something that must be treated not as a charity or human right but as an issue of social justice. It is the obligation of the state. Celebrating 8 March as International Women’s Day remains meaningless until social justice for working women with full pay for at least one year becomes universal.
Pregnancy is a natural phenomenon of procreation, continuity of species. Men do not have to suffer but working women are unduly penalised by the system, created by men. There are many UN conventions, international laws governing human rights and women’s rights and ILO’s binding clauses on paid maternity leave and duration of maternity leave for working women during pregnancy and postpartum period but it lacks specifics. In addition, there are no mechanisms to make countries complaint. There have been literally hundreds of international, regional and national seminars and workshops on women’s rights but a universal solution on maternity leave – with full pay for a fixed duration of one year for working women remains unfulfilled.
It is an economic issue
The population growth rate must be maintained at 2.1% (replacement rate) to maintain a stable population. But among 234 countries and territories around the world, dozens of countries are showing declining population growth rate; 44 countries are showing negative population growth rate; 3 countries have 0% growth rate and 143 countries and territories have growth rate below replacement level. The global population is expected to peak around the 2080s. According to Global Population Review (WPR 2024), 43 countries with positive growth will remain in Africa, 3 in the Middle Eastern and one Caribbean Island country for the foreseeable future. The implication is that all other countries will have diminished workforce in coming generations while dependency ratio will increase with increased old age population impacting their economy. Many countries are already dependent on the immigrant population for several kinds of work but this cannot be a permanent population. In addition, the immigrants (including legal) are barely tolerated if not outright hostile, and has also become a political issue in many countries. There is always a passive aggressive attitude against immigrants everywhere.
Some 40 countries provide different types of child benefits, many of them are from OECD countries. For countries where there is a negative population growth rate, providing fully paid maternity leave for one full year followed by child benefit could be one of the ways of encouraging population growth as opposed to depending on a controversial (and unwanted) immigrant population.
Binding conventions
The first legal provision for maternity leave to protect working women was legislated by ILO in 1919 Maternity Protection Convention, which was subsequently updated in 1952 and in 2000, ratified by just 43 countries. Article 6 of this binding convention says ‘cash benefits shall be provided in accordance with national laws and regulations …’. Article 5 states ‘a minimum of 14 weeks paid maternity leave …’. In countries which provide cash benefits, the ILO suggests that during maternity leave a woman should be paid at a rate of not less than two-thirds of her earnings, with full health benefits. According to the 2021 ILO dataset 151 countries and territories provide 14 weeks and 52 countries provide 18 week or more maternity leave. In 64 countries the maternity leave is still less than 14 weeks.
Article 2 of the 1958 ILO Convention 111 concerning discrimination in respect of employment and occupation which came into force on 15 June 1960 suggests ‘equality of opportunity in respect of employment and occupation’. Article 1 of this convention mentions no discrimination would be made ‘based on race, colour, sex, …’Although there is no explicit mention of equal pay no discrimination could implicitly be extended to paid maternity leave. (Attempt was made to look for data on maternity leave in the UNFPA portal but failed!)
The other most relevant UN convention related to women is the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) which has been ratified by 186 of the 193 UN member countries. Various clauses in Article 11 highlights: right to promotion, job security and all benefits and conditions of service …’; the right to equal remuneration including benefits and to equal treatment …’; prevent discrimination on the grounds of marriage and maternity …’; to prohibit imposition of sanction, dismissal on the grounds of pregnancy or of maternity leave …’; introduce maternity leave with pay or with comparable social benefits without loss of employment …’; provide special protection to women during pregnancy …’
Article 11.3 of this convention also states ‘protective legislation relating to matters covered in this article shall be reviewed periodically …. as necessary’. Looks like it is time to update Article 11 to address the duration of maternity leave and remunerations during maternity leave to be more specific, to extend fully paid maternity leave for one year.
At the moment
There has been universal progress in implementing CEDAW without doubt. Based on publicly available dataset there is great variation in duration of maternity leave and remunerations during maternity leave. These issues are a mix of women’s rights, local economy and social justice. According to the WPR 2024, 26 countries provide maternity leave of 18 weeks or more. But only 14 countries have legal provision of full pay during maternity leave but the duration of maternity leave in these 14 countries ranges from 6 weeks in Portugal to 30 weeks in Croatia. Bulgaria is an exception with 90% of the salary for 58.6 weeks (410 days) which starts 45 days prior to delivery date. According to ILO data of 2021, 123 countries offer fully paid maternity leave for up to 18 weeks, which is contradictory to WPR 2024 data. (ILO’s website is currently being updated). There is a need to reconcile data on this very important issue.
Want next?
There is a need to educate the internet generation on the idea of social justice besides keeping them busy with entertainment and sports. How many young people/youths have even heard of CEDAW or Universal Declaration of Human Rights? A new movement is needed to achieve this goal through public debate by engaging youth. It is not an issue of resources. What seems to be lacking is a political will to provide fully paid mandatory for one full year of maternity leave. Infants need maternal care during the first year(s) of life instead of depending on child care centers or nannies, which do not come cheap either. Fully paid maternity leave for one year will also help emotional bonding between mother and the infant.
Pregnancy is a natural phenomenon of procreation, continuity of species. Men do not have to suffer but working women are unduly penalised by the system, created by men. There are many UN conventions, international laws governing human rights and women’s rights and ILO’s binding clauses on paid maternity leave and duration of maternity leave for working women during pregnancy and postpartum period but it lacks specifics. In addition, there are no mechanisms to make countries complaint. There have been literally hundreds of international, regional and national seminars and workshops on women’s rights but a universal solution on maternity leave – with full pay for a fixed duration of one year for working women remains unfulfilled.
It is an economic issue
The population growth rate must be maintained at 2.1% (replacement rate) to maintain a stable population. But among 234 countries and territories around the world, dozens of countries are showing declining population growth rate; 44 countries are showing negative population growth rate; 3 countries have 0% growth rate and 143 countries and territories have growth rate below replacement level. The global population is expected to peak around the 2080s. According to Global Population Review (WPR 2024), 43 countries with positive growth will remain in Africa, 3 in the Middle Eastern and one Caribbean Island country for the foreseeable future. The implication is that all other countries will have diminished workforce in coming generations while dependency ratio will increase with increased old age population impacting their economy. Many countries are already dependent on the immigrant population for several kinds of work but this cannot be a permanent population. In addition, the immigrants (including legal) are barely tolerated if not outright hostile, and has also become a political issue in many countries. There is always a passive aggressive attitude against immigrants everywhere.
Some 40 countries provide different types of child benefits, many of them are from OECD countries. For countries where there is a negative population growth rate, providing fully paid maternity leave for one full year followed by child benefit could be one of the ways of encouraging population growth as opposed to depending on a controversial (and unwanted) immigrant population.
Binding conventions
The first legal provision for maternity leave to protect working women was legislated by ILO in 1919 Maternity Protection Convention, which was subsequently updated in 1952 and in 2000, ratified by just 43 countries. Article 6 of this binding convention says ‘cash benefits shall be provided in accordance with national laws and regulations …’. Article 5 states ‘a minimum of 14 weeks paid maternity leave …’. In countries which provide cash benefits, the ILO suggests that during maternity leave a woman should be paid at a rate of not less than two-thirds of her earnings, with full health benefits. According to the 2021 ILO dataset 151 countries and territories provide 14 weeks and 52 countries provide 18 week or more maternity leave. In 64 countries the maternity leave is still less than 14 weeks.
Article 2 of the 1958 ILO Convention 111 concerning discrimination in respect of employment and occupation which came into force on 15 June 1960 suggests ‘equality of opportunity in respect of employment and occupation’. Article 1 of this convention mentions no discrimination would be made ‘based on race, colour, sex, …’Although there is no explicit mention of equal pay no discrimination could implicitly be extended to paid maternity leave. (Attempt was made to look for data on maternity leave in the UNFPA portal but failed!)
The other most relevant UN convention related to women is the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) which has been ratified by 186 of the 193 UN member countries. Various clauses in Article 11 highlights: right to promotion, job security and all benefits and conditions of service …’; the right to equal remuneration including benefits and to equal treatment …’; prevent discrimination on the grounds of marriage and maternity …’; to prohibit imposition of sanction, dismissal on the grounds of pregnancy or of maternity leave …’; introduce maternity leave with pay or with comparable social benefits without loss of employment …’; provide special protection to women during pregnancy …’
Article 11.3 of this convention also states ‘protective legislation relating to matters covered in this article shall be reviewed periodically …. as necessary’. Looks like it is time to update Article 11 to address the duration of maternity leave and remunerations during maternity leave to be more specific, to extend fully paid maternity leave for one year.
At the moment
There has been universal progress in implementing CEDAW without doubt. Based on publicly available dataset there is great variation in duration of maternity leave and remunerations during maternity leave. These issues are a mix of women’s rights, local economy and social justice. According to the WPR 2024, 26 countries provide maternity leave of 18 weeks or more. But only 14 countries have legal provision of full pay during maternity leave but the duration of maternity leave in these 14 countries ranges from 6 weeks in Portugal to 30 weeks in Croatia. Bulgaria is an exception with 90% of the salary for 58.6 weeks (410 days) which starts 45 days prior to delivery date. According to ILO data of 2021, 123 countries offer fully paid maternity leave for up to 18 weeks, which is contradictory to WPR 2024 data. (ILO’s website is currently being updated). There is a need to reconcile data on this very important issue.
Want next?
There is a need to educate the internet generation on the idea of social justice besides keeping them busy with entertainment and sports. How many young people/youths have even heard of CEDAW or Universal Declaration of Human Rights? A new movement is needed to achieve this goal through public debate by engaging youth. It is not an issue of resources. What seems to be lacking is a political will to provide fully paid mandatory for one full year of maternity leave. Infants need maternal care during the first year(s) of life instead of depending on child care centers or nannies, which do not come cheap either. Fully paid maternity leave for one year will also help emotional bonding between mother and the infant.
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