It's not a consequence of having taken maternity leave, it's a consequence of having children to look after. Someone has to do it, you know?

Why, oh why, must we hear this blather about the "disadvantages" of motherhood? Women WANT to become mothers. Men don't bear children, therefore the burden of support falls on them and they are compensated slightly more. If a woman makes the decision not to use her uterus, or she simply does not use it for some reason, she is a beneficiary of the higher compensation that goes to men, who also don't use a uterus except by proxy.

Men who become fathers compensate the mothers for their time and effort by supporting them, and thus the mother directly benefits too from the father's increased compensation, not to mention that she gets to spend most of his income in the first place, even if she IS working and earning her own.

Life is a series of choices: it is stupid to keep pretending that it isn't and spending ever more taxpayer dollars to "prove" it.

...“Feather bedding” is the other name for paid maternity leave. There was a time in Australia when one wage was sufficient for the normal maintenance of a household.

...When did that circumstance change?

...There was once a time in the past when Women were content to be married and raise a family at home full time. Then came child endowment and tax benefits for families.
Methinks this situation and the inevitable cry for more, can be lumped under the banner of “aspirational”.

Antiseptic makes a valid point, ignoring the usual negative rhetoric about women (and spending).

The same applies to men who opt to be the primary carer if his spouse is working full-time. Whoever gets to look after the children is the one usually 'disadvantaged'. However why is staying at home for a time perceived as a disadvantage? It can be a very rewarding experience and many couples believe in the benefits of home care as compared to institutionalised care and make adjustments in spending to match those choices. Consumerism is a choice.

When returning to the workforce, it is commonsense to find part-time work or work that will enable people to fulfill the obligations of parenthood and work. Being a CEO will not fit that bill as opposed to a clerical or retail role.

Also, the longer the break in work experience the harder it is to re-enter the workforce at the same level, but many women have done it. One just has to be prepared to set their sights a little lower. Nobody is owed anything, it is what you make of your own abilities and how it fits into your family situation.

There are many professional men and women who juggle work and home responsibilities together. It is a partnership that recognises the value of the main income earner and the value of the stay-at-home partner, what works for one family might not suit another.

Surely, there is some missing information here that could be illuminating.

"The 'wage-penalty effect' is the average amount women who take maternity leave fall behind other women in terms of their comparative hourly rates of pay."

I see no reference to the other half of the study, that quantifies the amount by which men who take a sabbatical from their work fall behind other men in terms of their comparative hourly rates of pay.

Without this data, the conclusions here are meaningless. What differentiates maternity leave from any other "gap" in someone's career path? Apart, of course, from the fact that maternity leave is now paid for by the long-suffering taxpayer, but that isn't the topic here.

"In Germany the wage-penalty effect has been found to increase by as much as one per cent for every additional month of leave taken over and above the legislated length of paid leave."

How does this compare to the lengthening of any absence from the workforce, by male or female, with or without maternity support?

Sorry. I don't buy the "disadvantaged" argument one little bit. Unless you are comparing like with like, absence with absence, there is no case to answer.

“It is important, therefore, that the government measure the future costs that is associated with taking maternity leave and consider the policy options available to ensure that women are not disadvantaged by taking this important initiative.”

So what are these policy options?

I have heard of some professions where both fathers and mothers who work reduced work hours (and in the present work environment, reduced work hours can be 40 hours a week), are more likely to be overlooked when it comes to promotion.

Highly ambitious single income with no kids, who are willing to work 60 hrs + per week, willing to work their holidays, and willing to their RDOs are more likely to be promoted.

There are some mining companies who have put a maximum limit of 62 hrs per week for an employee.

Perhaps such policies should become more common in other industries, for both salary staff and normal wage employees.

N.B.
Single parent familles are the quickest way to child poverty.

A woman who remains married, will, on average, be twice as wealthy on retirement age as an unmarried woman.

Pericles it is exactly the same for both sexes. After just a 2 month training period in the states, with the company, I had difficulty fitting back in.

Those who had filled in for me resented my return, & even the management who had sent me to train, had some problems integrating me. The fact that I now had some knowledge that no one else had, was actually a problem.

Vanna,. don't be silly. Everything in life has a cost, child birth included.

When the company were about to promote me, they learned that I raced a Brabham formula 2 some Sundays. Not only did this stop any thought of promotion, it made them most unhappy as it was.

They pointed out that for the good of the company, my present position was far too senior, & important to be filled by someone who might turn up dead one Sunday night. Although I could not see that the fact that I drove around Bathurst, occasionally, a bit quicker than the average tourist was likely to kill me, that was not the way it was for them.

We parted 6 months later, after I had half trained a replacement. That was the cost of me mucking around with cars. I certainly did nothing as serious as getting pregnant.

I accepted that we all must take responsibility for our actions & desires. I was not prepared to give up my sport, they could not handle a racing driver executive.

I think it's fair to say, becoming a mother is a much more distracting activity than driving fast, so I think it is very silly for any lady to think they can do both, to the same level as they have previously worked. The fact that many don't is more often the womans choice than the managements.