Page 960 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 25 February 2009
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include economic dependency and violence and in some cases, poverty forces women into the sex trade. And regardless of whether they themselves are HIV-positive or sick with AIDS, women assume the burden of home-based care for others who are sick or dying. While many have shown great fortitude and courage in these situations, they lose time and energy that might be spent on earning a livelihood or caring for their own illness, and risk sinking into an ever-deepening degree of poverty.
2. Poverty traps women in multiple layers of discrimination and hinders their ability to claim their rights, not only do women bear a disproportionate burden of the world’s poverty, but in some cases, globalisation has widened the gap, with women losing more than their share of jobs, benefits and labour rights.
3. In addition women’s political participation, a fundamental prerequisite for gender equality and genuine democracy, is extremely limited internationally and as a result, laws, policies and government institutions fall short—neither affecting the needs of all citizens nor supporting progress on women’s rights.
This brings us to an issue close to home that affects Australian women—the provision of paid maternity leave. Paid maternity leave has a variety of benefits. The World Health Organisation notes:
… an assessment of available evidence indicates that:
• A period of absence from work after birth is of upmost importance to the health of the mother and the infant. This is conducive to both the optimal growth of the infant and the bonding between mother and infant. Absence from work also allows the mother to recover …
• Breastfeeding is a major determinant of infant health. There is ample evidence on the advantages of breastfeeding for child health and development and for the prevention of child mortality and morbidity … WHO recommends that infants should be exclusively breastfed on demand from birth for at least 4 and, if possible, 6 months of age … Women who are unable to breastfeed on demand are at increased risk of stopping breastfeeding prematurely.
In conclusion, they recommend that women need at least 16 weeks absence from work after delivery. The health benefits of having time to recover from birth, breastfeed and bond with your child are undeniable. This time should not be disrupted by financial stress. Families with new children have enough worries without adding the burden of the loss of income, especially in the current economic crisis.
Providing the mother and child with enough time to bond and be healthy, is not the only advantage of providing paid maternity leave. For employers, staff retention is a key benefit. The Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency has noted that in 2003 their annual survey found that the retention rate of female employees that had taken maternity leave was 67 per cent of organisations where paid maternity leave was provided. The agency continued:
This retention rate was only 56 per cent at organisations where no paid maternity leave provisions were offered … Paid maternity leave is increasingly seen by employers to benefit their organisation by:
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