Understanding the Impacts of Paid Maternity Leave on Women’s Labor Market Outcomes (2023)

More is not necessarily better when it comes to maternity leave. The authors link data on 40 years of paid leave across 24 European countries to individual-level data from the European Social Survey, finding that maternity leaves longer than three months negatively affected female employment and increased women’s domestic work burden. They conclude that policymakers wishing to improve gender equality in the labor force should focus on policies that address gendered expectations of domestic work and negative impacts of paid maternity leave – such as improved childcare systems and enhanced paid paternity leave. Read more >>