"Unintended Consequences
According to a recent study from an economist at Cornell, generous parental leave policies could jeopardize all women’s chances for promotion. Looking at the impact on women, the study indicated that women hired after the Family and Medical Leave Act was passed were “five percent more likely to remain employed but eight percent less likely to be promoted than those who were hired before” it was enacted. The reason? Perhaps employers hesitate to invest in women if there is a chance they will take long periods of time away from work.
Similarly, research on the impact of generous maternity policies in Europe indicates that women are less likely to become managers or to occupy high-powered positions. In Chile, a child care mandate for working mothers led to a decrease in starting salaries for all women.
Our Bottom Line: Incentives
I suspect that the reality of parental leave shifts employers’ and employees’ incentives. While we may have kinder work policies from certain firms, they still have to worry about competition, the work load carried by remaining employees, and their investment in human capital. Correspondingly, more employees will have the incentive to take time off that might have unintended future repercussions.
As a result, we should ask whether an Amazon is more female friendly than a firm with mommy time off.
Sources and more...Starting with the Amazon NY Times article and then comparing it to Netflix, other tech firms' policies, and OECD data, you might condemn a family unfriendly competitive work environment. But reading further, here, here and here, we discover as always that there is a tradeoff."
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
The Unintended Consequences of Parental Leave
By Elaine Schwartz . Excerpt:
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