Orientations to Paid Maternity Leave: Understanding the Australian Debate

By Marian Baird

There has been much debate about a national paid maternity leave scheme in Australia. The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) recommended a scheme in 2002, but no further progress has been made.

Even amongst those strongly in favour of paid maternity leave there is dispute and confusion about the hows and whys of its operation. Baird suggests that this stems from he various orientations to paid leave. She proposes a typology of these orientations: the welfare orientation, based on women's "maternal citizenship", the bargaining orientation which sees leave as an employment right and condition and the business orientation. Which differs from the bargaining one in that it sees the paid leave as closely associated with business or company needs, rather than with employee entitlements. To move the issue along she suggests a new approach, based on social feminism and a "new equity" is required. This would be much more I line with European approaches. This approach sees women gaining real equality in the workplace and society, with paid maternity leave providing income replacement and security of employment, thus addressing women's dual role.

(Journal of Industrial Relations; vol 46, no 3, September 2004)