Maternity at work: A review of national legislation, second edition

Protecting the maternity of women workers is essential to women’s rights and abilities to successfully combine their reproductive and productive roles, free from discrimination in employment on the basis of their actual or potential role as mothers. Dramatic changes in the labor market over the past several decades, including women’s increasing labor force participation, growing commitment to eliminating discrimination in employment, and falling fertility rates related to work-family time pressures, have made maternity protection ever more important. Indeed, the global consensus on the importance of maternity leave is reflected in the fact that some maternity provisions exist in the legislation of virutally all countries. Nevertheless, there is considerable scope for improving the legislative provisions as well as the application of international standards on maternity protection at the national level. This study contributes to our knowledge of the status and progress of maternity legislation.