WUNRN
Australian Human Rights Commission
7 November 2008
The federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Elizabeth Broderick, called upon the federal government today to consider the positive impacts of paid maternity leave on the economy before making any decisions to delay or abandon plans to introduce such a scheme.
“I understand we are in difficult financial times and that the government must work very hard to manage our economy, but the simple fact is that a paid maternity leave scheme can only provide a positive impact on the economy, particularly over the long term,” said Commissioner Broderick.
“As I have emphasised before, a federally-funded scheme not only assists families, it is also beneficial for business and for the community,” the Commissioner said. “It not only gives mothers the chance to establish a strong foundation in their family – it increases the number of women returning to work and, in a great many cases, allows businesses to hold on to highly skilled, highly trained and highly valued female staff.”
Commissioner Broderick pointed out that many employers that have implemented paid maternity leave schemes have return-to-work rates nudging 90 per cent.
“Though we are in a world financial crisis, Australia is also currently experiencing a skills shortage,” Ms Broderick said.
“When you consider that women make up 45 per cent of the full-time workforce, it becomes obvious that the ability of women to engage in and return to paid work is a crucial factor in meeting labour force demands.”
Commissioner Broderick pointed out that that 64 per cent of people who commenced a bachelor’s degree and 47.5 per cent of students in the public vocational and educational training sector in 2007 were women.
“We must start to ensure that the return on public and private investment in the training and education of women is flowing into the workforce and thus the economy,” Commissioner Broderick said. “There is no point having an education revolution if the nation's investment in the education of women and girls is wasted because they are not able to maintain labour market attachment when they become mothers.
“The evidence is clear that women are a vital and indispensible cog in Australia’s economic machinery,” Commissioner Broderick said. “On that basis, a federally-funded paid maternity leave scheme can only provide support and improvement to the quality and effectiveness of our workforce and therefore our economy.”
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