By Veronica Alaimo and Laura Ripani

There are many political measures that aim to support women so they can achieve work life balance, particularly during pregnancy and when they have small children. Like with any other labour rules, it is important to consider the potential secondary effects that regulations may have, which can actually damage the group of people the rule aims to protect. In this case we are discussing women and the reduction of gaps in the labour market.

There are regulations in Latin America and the Caribbean to protect workers against unjustified dismissal and discrimination, as well as to grant the right of free time for workers to feed their children and to have paid maternity leave. This last measure is particularly important, as it safeguards the rights mothers have to be with their child and away from work for several weeks, while granting the continuation of their income and job by the end of the license. Every country in the region, expect Surinam, has at least one regulation in force to guarantee that protection. In fact, in 23 out of 26 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean working mothers receive 100% of the regular wages during maternity leave. Only in El Salvador, Guyana and Paraguay do women receive 75%, 70% and 50% respectively of their salary. Duration of the leave varies in each country, from 8 weeks in Jamaica to 26 in Chile. It is important to point out that in 96% of the countries in the region the resources for these leaves are provided by mixed system that include social insurance and the employer.

Recently, several strategies have been developed in our region to support working mothers or fathers who need a place where their children can be looked after while they are working or looking for a job. Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico and Peru are some of the countries that have implemented these kind of policies and specialized programs. Chile has also created public day-cares for female workers who work in companies that hire 20 or more women. The objective of this regulation was to increase female labour participation, providing opportunities for women with small children. However, there is evidence that proves that the real result does not match the desired result: not only do companies hire fewer women (Escobar 2014), but when they do hire them, women get paid a lot less (Prada, Rucci and Urzúa, 2014).

The Chilean case is not unique. There are regulations in Spain too that aim to benefit women and end up damaging them. In 1999 a bill was enacted to promote work life balance among working people in Spain. One of the goals was to promote equality of opportunities between men and women. Fernández-Kranz and Rodríguez-Planas (2011) have discovered that, after the bill was enacted, companies were more reluctant to hire young women and/ or offer them permanent contracts. Instead, companies have the tendency of either hiring men or hiring young women using temporary contracts.

Indeed, progress has been made in reducing the gap between men and women. But pending matters are also important. Public policy makers may help, as long as they consider potential negative effects while designing a new program or policy.

Source: http://blogs.iadb.org/