The case for longer leave for mothers

The call for better facilities for breastfeeding mothers in the workplace is just one aspect of ensuring women play a full role in society. For that to happen, society has to make some adjustments – such as providing rooms for nursing mothers, as The National reported yesterday, so they no longer have to use clearly unsuitable places such as public toilets or the back of a car.

But there is a much bigger issue here than providing hygienic, private and relaxing places for new mothers to nurse. The UAE’s 45-day statutory maternity leave is well below the global average for modern and wealthy countries, making it less likely that mothers will re-enter the workforce after having a child.

Some private employers have opted to provide more generous maternity benefits than the law requires so that they retain the intellectual capital of their female workers. Dubai agency MediaCom, for example, provides six months of paid maternity leave for the women who make up nearly half of its 120-strong staff across the Mena region. This is closer to the average for the countries to which the UAE likes to compare itself.

The reasons why MediaCom opted to provide more generous benefits applies equally to this country as a whole. Some new mothers will be happy to stay at home and devote themselves solely to raising their child, and they should be encouraged to follow that goal. But for those who seek to return to paid employment, accommodation should be made at their place of work.

There are many factors that make this reintegration easier, such as dedicated rooms for breastfeeding and more flexible working hours to accommodate the nature of caring for very young children. But the single biggest factor is the length of maternity leave and one can argue that the 45 days stipulated by the law now is too short.

A new federal law for six months of paid maternity leave, possibly with the option of a further six months of unpaid leave, will go a long way towards making it more likely that mothers will choose to return to work. Some might question the cost this will impose on the economy but that is to fail to account for the years of experience and highly developed workplace skills these women possess.

The UAE already reaps the rewards of empowering women and that should continue once they become mothers.