Essay about Maternity Leave in Australia

The length of maternity leave granted according to A.L Sutton (2009) “nearly one quarter… [of] working mother[s

Australian families have experienced many significant changes over the past 6 decades. These changes consequently resulted in equality of opportunities, and conditions for women in the labour force. Along with the willingness of most men to become voluntarily involved in core household work, as well as taking on a greater role with respect to childcare. This essay will discuss two significant changes in gender roles, and will examine some of the positive and negative impacts it had on Australian society over the past six decades. On the one hand, Australian federal and state governments passed several new laws and legislations which resulted in an increased participation by women in the labour force. These legislative changes provide many

As we move into the new millennium more and more employers are allowing, some are even encouraging, their employees to bring their newborn babies to work with them. This is probably one of the greatest changes in child care norms that this country has seen in the past 30 years. Once upon a time, when a woman had a baby she almost always quit her job to raise her child, depending on her husband to support her and her child. Then along came the idea of maternity leave. This is when a woman takes a certain amount of time off to be with newborn. Once this time period was up, the woman still had a job to go back to. This meant that women no longer had to rely on their husbands for support. Unfortunately it also

Maternity leave is a retreat that all mothers should have the opportunity to experience after childbirth. The birth of a child can be exciting, exhausting, and challenging for all new mothers experiencing the joys of parenthood. Unfortunately for some working mothers living in the United States, maternity leave is not always guaranteed. The United States is one of the only developed countries in the world that doesn’t guarantee paid maternity leave. An idea so common in other countries is considered a luxury benefit for hard-working mothers in the United States.

Today there are two countries in the world that do not currently guarantee paid maternity leave for employed new mothers and/or expecting mothers, those countries are the United States and Papua New Guinea, according to the International Labour Organization, an United Nations agency, which recommends a minimum 18 week maternity leave (Rubin 2016, p.1). In recent years, the controversial issue of guaranteed maternal leave has been a prominent topic of debate amongst political activists and elites, particularly in the United States, where reform is a feasible option but has yet to be achieved. It is this absence of policy that serves to provide guaranteed maternal for all working mothers that has been linked to significant health related issues; these adverse effects not only impacts those mothers, but their children as well. Although paid maternal leave remains a controversial matter, policy reform that implements such leave is not only a feasible option in the United States, both economically and politically, it is an ethical necessity in order to facilitate the well-being of American women. Thus, in order to work toward ethical political/governmental policy that supports the well-being of women in the United States’ workforce, it is crucial that guaranteed paid maternal policy is implemented.

The Family and Medical Aid Act (FLMA), of 1993, provides for 12 weeks of unpaid, job protected leave for certain specified events (8). Whilst one could refer to this as maternity or paternity leave if taken because of a pregnancy, this would not be strictly true. Where maternity and paternity leave are offered around the

In the case study, it demonstrates how the United States is the only industrialized country without a law assuring paid maternity leave to new mothers, in comparison to other countries such as

Gillard. She stated that child care is a censorious elements of the modern economy. Mass production steadily rising the bar and becoming the driven force for growth in Australian’s economy guaranteeing adults, who work are rewarded by opportunities. With the help of the federal government, Ms. Gillard created a steady child care policy, which addressed problems many Australian’s parents faced while still searching for new jobs hoping to become reemployed. Australian families searched for lengthy period to make sure that their newborn has the best care, although, the standards of the Early Childhood education programs has improved. One responsibility of the Childhood Education Program is to provide care to Australian children as well as assuring child care stayed affordable. In Australia over one million children are in child care but, many are prohibited due to high fees and limited choices. Parents living in regional areas of Australia have difficult time finding care that meet their children needs. For the last couple of years the government reduced child care rebate from eight thousand one hundred and seventy nine dollars to seventy five hundred dollars, Since, Ms. Gillard has been in office the price of child care has drastically reaching higher than twenty percent. The double drop off did meet expectations as it has yet to start building two hundred and sixty new child care centers as promised. In all, Ms.

In addition, the effects of paid leave on labour market additionally widen past parents as well. For example, paid leave influences employees' wage rates and may be biased against females since employers make known that female workers may have children later on. There are incentives for unfairness on women if paid parental leave really expands the expenses to the employees. The absence of workers causes costs on employers, this may incorporate leave administration costs, enlisting and preparing replacement costs which will diminish the profitability level (Commonwealth of Australia, p. 24). Nonetheless, on the employee side, the incentives to remain inside labour force and to pick occupation and employer are dictated by the expenses and advantages

Australia government gives government-funded entitlement for working parents who care new born child or adopted child. Parental Leave Pay is a taxable payment paid at the National Minimum Wage up to 18 weeks. The company does not have to pay wages during the period but need to arrange tax withholding.

Women employees have the right to take up to one year’s (52 weeks’) maternity leave. All women have the right to return to their

Maternity leave would be reasonable. Why is it necessary to meet special requirements with employers in order to qualify for maternity leave? Three months with unpaid time is not sufficient for mothers and babies to get adjusted. After labor, mothers are unstable. Their hormones are unbalanced. Pumping, going through pain, and separation anxiety can be very stressful. In some situations, women go through postpartum depression, and cannot take much responsibilities or lift more than ten pounds. What makes a mother uncomfortable is the need of pumping in the workplace. Employers don’t offer a nursing room, so they must

The article, “Without Taking Away Her Leave”: A Canadian Case Study of Couples Decisions on Father’s Use of Parental Leave” explains, “More than one in four Canadian fathers now takes some paid leave at the birth of a child.” While this certain explanation is shown in a positive perspective, more fathers in the workplace should be taking hefty advantage of paid parental leave particularly to form the bond in the first six weeks. While in countries like Canada in the province of Quebec, paternity leave is more accepted by men than it is in countries like the United States. In the United States it is more likely for a father not to take any time off after his child is born. One might argue that taking too much time off after the birth of a child might take away opportunities in the workplace, but because paternity leave is becoming more accepted, it will be normal for a man to take time off. It is likely that they will have to use vacation time which might leave room for not being able to call off for an emergency. In most cases, taking twelve weeks unpaid could really hurt a family. That is why those first six weeks should be paid for. The idea

Despite the advantages of paid parental leave, the United States trails behind other developed countries in guaranteeing these options. In fact, America is currently “one of the only two nations (the other being Papua New Guinea) that do not guarantee paid maternity leave to new mothers” (Baum II and Ruhm 333). Last year, according to the Pew Research Center, only fourteen percent of workers had access to paid family leave (Desilver). Instead of choosing to extend paid leave for their employees, many American businesses opt to offer unpaid family leave that is available to almost ninety

Female employees are entitled to twenty-six weeks of maternity leave, plus an additional sixteen weeks unpaid maternity leave, regardless of the