Maternity leave could be answer for greying nation

Paid maternity leave could be the answer to halting Australia’s ageing population according to new research.

In an analysis of the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey, UQ School of Economics PhD candidate Leonora Risse found that the availability of paid maternity leave elevates pregnancy rates for younger women.

Ms Risse’s research found that 6.9 percent of women aged 24 years or less, who have access to paid maternity leave, reported becoming pregnant, compared to 3.8 percent for women in the same age-group who did not have access to paid leave.

“Statistically, women in the 24 years or less age-group who have access to paid maternity leave are 11 percent more likely to become pregnant than those without it,” Ms Risse said.

“Only one out of every three women in employment 24 years-of-age or less actually has access to paid maternity leave. If all women in this age-group were provided paid maternity leave, the age-specific annual pregnancy rate would rise from 3.29 percent to an estimated 3.54 percent. That’s equivalent to an extra five children per every 2000 women in this age-group.”

Ms Risse said this in turn could influence Australia’s ageing population.

“Potentially, the provision of paid maternity leave could encourage women to have children sooner rather than later,” Ms Risse said.

“The provision of this leave has the capacity to boost aggregate birth rates and alleviate the economic pressures of an ageing population by encouraging women to have children without severing their ties to the labour force.”

Other findings from the research showed that one in five women in the workforce did not know whether or not they had access to paid maternity leave and that women in higher-skilled occupations and higher-paying jobs are more likely to be entitled to paid maternity leave.

Ms Risse said this suggested that employers rely on maternity leave as a means of retaining their most valuable employees.

She said her findings could have direct implications for government policy, industry and society as a whole.

“Paid maternity leave allows women to have children and maintain their attachment to the labour force over the long run which means we are not losing out on the skills and knowledge that they bring to the workforce.”

Media enquiries: Leonora Risse (07 3365 6564 or 07 3876 0327).