An increasing number of Australian organisations are offering paid maternity leave according to research released yesterday by by the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency (EOWA) and Alcoa of Australia.
An increasing number of Australian organisations are offering paid maternity leave according to research released yesterday by by the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency (EOWA) and Alcoa of Australia.
Data collected from 2300 organisations, representative of over one million Australian women indictaed 50.8% of organisations now provide employees with paid maternity leave - an increase by more than 15% from 2003.
However, Australia saw only a 1.9% increase in paid maternity leave between 2007 and 2008.
Alcoa director of talent, learning and development, Jann Kinsela believes sustainable national productivity and growth partly relies on equality for women in the workplace.
Full announcement below:
Report: paid maternity leave on the rise
Sustainable national productivity and growth partly relies on equality for women in the workplace - according to
Alcoa's Director of Talent, Learning and Development Jann Kinsela.
The comments follow new research released in Canberra yesterday, by the Equal Opportunity for Women in the
Workplace Agency (EOWA) and Alcoa of Australia, showing an increasing number of organisations is now
offering paid maternity leave.
The data were collected from 2300 organisations, representative of over one million Australian women.
As an EOWA recognised 'Employer of Choice for Women', and as part of the company's commitment to promoting
equal opportunity and more diverse workplace, Alcoa funded the EOWA research.
"Flexibility, equality and providing career opportunities for women are critically important for well functioning
communities, and it's research like this which helps sign-post the way for businesses and society to progress,"
Ms Kinsela said.
50.8% of organisations now provide employees with paid maternity leave - an increase by more than 15% from
2003. However, Australia saw only a 1.9% increase in paid maternity leave between 2007 and 2008.
"EOWA is currently collecting data on how organisations plan to change their current practices and policies
given the introduction of the Government funded paid parental leave scheme," Acting EOWA Director Mairi
Steele said.
Ms Kinsela said Alcoa continues to offer 13 weeks paid maternity leave, compared with the average duration of
9.4 weeks.
"Alcoa's return to work rates following maternity leave are high at around 90 per cent, and data tells us that our
ability to offer part-time arrangements for women returning from maternity leave has had a significant impact on
the retention of women," Ms Kinsela said.
"But at Alcoa, we also know that providing paid maternity leave and part-time arrangements are only two parts
in providing women with equality and a work/ life balance.
"Diversity initiatives and flexibility are key to business sustainability - taking these issues seriously simply
makes good business sense.
"Providing opportunities for women to realise their career potential have been central strategies for Alcoa for
many years now, because we know that we stand a far greater chance of attracting the right people who will be
the best fit for our organisation and who will be best placed to deliver our business results."
