BILKENT UNIVERSITY

A Crack in the New

Right: Neo Liberalism

vs. Neo-Conservatism The Case of Maternity Leave

Burcu Cura

Berkay Koçak

Cem Soner

Deniz Kobakçı

Yusuf Ata

This research project examines the ways in which the case of maternity leave exposes

the exploitative nature of the contradiction between neoconservative and neoliberal

ideologies. The contradiction manifests itself in the question whether women should

be kept at home, contribute to reproduction or participate in the labour force in order

to meet the high expectations of the market economy.

1

Contents

Maternity Leave: The Case that Exposes the Role

of Women in Contemporary Societies ................. 2

Maternity Leave in the World .............................. 5

An Economic Comparative Study: USA vs.

Norway .............................................................. 7

The Systematic Analysis of Family Policies in

Turkey .................................................................. 8

Maternity Leave and Child Care ........................ 8

Deficiencies of Maternity Leave Regulations in

Turkey ............................................................. 10

Maternity Leave as Catalyst in Turkish Female

Labor Force Participation .................................. 11

The Future of Maternity Leave .......................... 16

Conclusion ......................................................... 19

Bibliogprahy ...................................................... 21

2

Maternity Leave: The Case that Exposes the Role of Women in

Contemporary Societies

Maternity leave is defined as “the period of absence from work granted to a

mother before and after the birth of her child.”1 Throughout the world maternity leave

remains a legal right for working women to give birth and take care of their children

for a specific time. Although maternity leave is considered as one of the most

significant legal rights protecting women in the free market, in the contemporary

world maternity leave considered to be a social challenge since from the broader

picture the role of women in social life, is so to say, under siege. The reason behind is

the shrinking world capitalist system, which always intends to reduce costs by

creating flexible labor force isolated from all the legal advantages of working.

As a universal social challenge maternity leave emerges as a case which

exposes different ideological perspectives on women about their role in labor force

participation and their traditional role in the household. The widespread popular

ideologies of the actual world, neo-liberalism and neo-conservatism which are

considered compatible with the free market economy have different assumptions on

the role of and women in social life. Since neo-liberalism and neo-conservatism have

already been integrated and are thus complicated to differentiate, we have to define

them clearly before trying to see the points where they overlap and differentiate.

“By neo-liberalism, we understand a specific mentality that involves the

normative imposition of a globally-contoured, locally-actualized market rationality on

political, social and cultural spheres—in other words, “market-political rationality”

(Brown, 2006). Neo liberalism consists of a market rationality which has significant

1Oxford Dictionary.http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/maternity-

leave?q=maternity+leave

3

impact on the role of women in the economic and social life since this market

rationality integrates women in to the labor force because of its further development2.

On the other hand, from the aspect of neo conservative ideology3 the role of

women in social and economic life must be more limited than the expectations of the

free market since the traditional role of women in the household is necessary to be

maintained, in order to create an efficient population, consistent society, and

comfortable social environment. So, women’s role continues to be in the household,

while women are carrying out the house chores, looking after children and pleasing

her family. In light of this definition, the place of women is associated with the

domestic sphere as the provider of fertility and healthy new generations.

In the light of these ideological perspectives maternity leave appears as a

direct case which relates these different perspectives and the role of women in a

single case. It is reflecting a social challenge for women in modern societies where

they engage different faces of free market economy. Women are both the subject of

flexificaiton of the labor force, and neo-conservative processes of social exclusion at

the same time. Neo-liberal economies at its origins, try to push women to become

parts of the flexible labor since their role in the household is both providing the

reproduction of different without any cost4. Moreover neo-liberal economic mentality

2By the category of women we mention specifically the women who constitute most of the women

represented in the free market economy. Although their class background and education level are

differentiated, all women in a capitalist society are considered to be a part of the economic system. 3 Neo-conservatism is meanwhile defined as a variant on the political ideology of conservatism, which

combines features of traditional conservatism with political individualism and a partial endorsement of

the free market (Encyclopedia Britannica) 4 By household services we include the services such as childcare, cleaning, cooking and other

household services which are outside the house become an economic burden for families. This process

is simply a process that diminishes the spending of households in order to pay them less , to reduce

employment costs.

4

tries to use women as a substitute labor for men in order to compensate several

services with less cost and more exploitation5.

Although there is a recognized guarantee for women to return to their work

after the permission (maternity leave) granted, the restrictions about the time period

and the financial support during the leave remain a concern for women (soL, 2015).

Moreover after the birth and maternity leave, women neither are nor encouraged to

return to work or they are not accepted as the same in their work place since their

adaptability is lost. “Mothers are judged as less competent . . . and are less likely to be

hired and promoted”. The child becomes seen as disability of women while adopting

to flexible work place (Hanel, 2013).

So maternity leave, with all these contemporary situations and perspectives on

women by different popular ideologies is a significant social challenge that reflects

the role of women in modern societies. In this research maternity leave is examined

from a multidimensional perspective in which the case is compared and contrasted

from the actual examples in the international arena. Moreover since this research

includes a target for illuminating a social challenge in Turkey, it also includes a wide

evaluation for the case of Turkey. Finally this research tries to summarize the main

mentalities about maternity leave while describing the tendencies that will be the

topic in the future.

5Since there is an increasing gender wage gap in the capitalist societies, women are paid less and

prefered mostly for the jobs that does require less payment.

5

Maternity Leave in the World

Countries Weeks of Leave Percentage of Wage Payment

Africa

Algeria 14 100%

Angola 12 100%

Ethiopia 13 100%

Libya 14 50%

Ruanda 16 100%

South Africa 17 60%

Sudan 8 100%

Tunisia 4 67%

Asia

Afghanistan 13 100

Cambodia 13 50%

China 14 100%

India 12 100%

Indonesia 13 100

Myanmar 12 67%

Pakistan 12 100%

Thailand 13 100

Vietnam 26 100%

Developed Economies

Australia 52 100%

Canada 17 55%

France 16 100%

Germany 14 50%

Italy 22 80%

Japan 14 67%

Norway 49 100%

South Korea 13 100%

Spain 16 100%

U.K. 52 90%

U.S.A. 12 0%

Developing Countries

Argentina 13 100%

Brazil 17 100%

Bulgaria 32 100%

Chile 18 100%

Croatia 58 100%

Egypt 13 100%

Mexico 12 100%

North Korea 11 100%

Poland 26 100%

Turkey 16 100%

Uruguay 12 100%

Venezuela 26 100%

(Source: ILO Report & soL Haber Portalı)

6

Before moving to the examination of Turkish case, this research slightly

focusses on the condition of maternity leave across the world. We provided several

examples from the most significant cases in the world. From this data we selected

USA and Norway as the most contrasting examples that also reflect the contrast

between different ideological approaches on maternity leave.

7

An Economic Comparative Study: USA vs. Norway

For a comparative economic study of maternity leave, we will examine USA

and Norway. We have selected these countries for comparison because there is a

significant economic contrast exists between them. Although they both considered as

the member of the Developed Countries, they have very opposite different economic

agendas: USA is the pioneer of the free market economy while Norway, as a typical

Scandinavian country, adopted the economics of a welfare state. This contrast is also

reflected in their approach to the issue of maternity leave. USA’s regulation about

maternity leave was stated in the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, signed by

Bill Clinton. According to this federal law, the United States has no wage

compensation and only 12 weeks for the maternity leave.6 This legislation is too

inappropriate and unfair for a country that is said to be the world’s most prosperous

and wealthiest state. In fact, the USA is the only developed country that doesn’t have

a paid maternity leave to its workers.7 On the other hand, Norway has a generous

offer in maternity leave with two options: 49 weeks fully paid leave or 59 weeks %80

paid leave. Furthermore, this benefits are not only limited for mothers. Fathers can

also enjoy this offer with a special “daddy-quota” that reserves part of the parental

leave period exclusively for them. If they did not use the allotted part,

pappapermisjon, in the parental leave, the family will lose ten weeks from the leave.

This is an interesting policy that is firstly implemented in Norway and aims to create

an equal share of responsibilities among man and woman by encouraging mother’s

6Federal Regulations, Part 825: The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 : Title 29, Part 825 of the

Code of Federal Regulations. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Labor, Employment Standards

Administration, Wage and Hour Division, 2009. Print.

7Heymann, Jody, and Jeffrey Heyes.The Work, Family, and Equity Index How Does the United States

Measure Up? Montreal, Que.: McGill U, Institute for Health and Social Policy :, 2007. Print.

8

return to labor market. This may explain why we have a higher female labor force

participation in Norway (%62) then the USA (%56) according to World Bank data.8

Moreover, Norway also dominates USA in female unemployment with a rate of %3.3

to %7.1.9 Taking above points into consideration, we can definitely say that free

market economy falls short in a social challenge like maternity leave when compared

to a welfare state. In this study, the USA’s neoliberalism fails to provide an incentive

to increase fertility rates,a crucial part of the economic growth which is the key goal

of this ideology.

The Systematic Analysis of Family Policies in Turkey

“The family is the foundation of the Turkish society and is based on the principle of equality between

the spouses. The state shall take the necessary measures and establish the necessary organization to

ensure the peace and welfare of the family, especially where the protection of the mother and children

is involved, and to provide the needed education in the practical application of family planning”

Article 41 of the Constitution of the Turkish Republic

As Article 41 clearly addresses, the government’s role in regulating family life

is remarkable in Turkey. The country is a vastly family-focused society in which

women have to be flexible between their roles at home and working place. Therefore,

the change in policies, laws and regulations which are named as “family policy”

directly affects any employed women having children (Çakıroğlu, Kafesçioğlu,

Mitrani, 2011).

Maternity Leave and Child Care

8"Labor Force Participation Rate, Female." Labor Force Participation Rate.WorldBank.Web. 11 Apr.

2015. <http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.TLF.CACT.FE.ZS>.

9"Unemployment, Female." Unemployment, Female (% of Female Labor Force) (modeled ILO

Estimate). Web. 11 Apr. 2015. <http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.UEM.TOTL.FE.ZS/countries>.

9

Article 50 of the Constitution of the Turkish Republic states that “women are

protected in terms of working conditions”. Referring to this article, women are given

certain privileged rights by the Social Security Legislation.

Any employed women who is under the coverage of the Social Security

Institute (SSI) is eligible for leave of absence for prenatal visits during her pregnancy,

a total of 16 weeks of paid maternity leave and up to six more months of unpaid

maternity leave. During maternity leave, the employer does not have to pay the

employee. In order to reduce victimization under this condition, the employee is given

pension against incapacity to work by the SSI. For inpatient treatment, she can get 1/2

of her current wage and for the outpatient care she can get 2/3 of her current wage.

However, the precondition of these payments is the earned and notified premium of

90-day-period during the job within one year before birth.

Apart from the pension against incapacity to work for the employed women,

another privileged right is nursing leave. Nursing mothers of babies younger than 1

year of age are also eligible for nursing leaves for a total 90 minutes a day (Turkish

Labor Law). In addition to nursing leave, nursing mothers have the nursing benefit for

each child in case the preconditions are met. The nursing benefit for 2013 was 95 ,

for 2014 were 103 and for 2015 is 112 .

According to the Labor Law, any company that employs more than 150

women has to provide day care for children between 0 and 6 years of age. Also, the

law mandates that all employees be insured via the SSI.

Through such policies, laws and regulations the government is directly taking

on the role of protector and planner of the Turkish families (Çarkoğlu, Kafescioğlu,

Mitrani, 2011). Additionally, the status of women and children in the family are given

direct governmental protection.

10

Deficiencies of Maternity Leave Regulations in Turkey

Although Turkey is considered better than many European examples, there are

still significant deficiencies which have to be dealt with (Çarkoğlu, Kafesçioğlu,

Mitrani, 2011). First of all, the role of fathers in childcare is entirely ignored.

According to the Turkish Labor Law, the maximum amount of time fathers can get is

3 days paid leave. Also, the regulations about maternity leave make men much more

preferable compared to the women. Thus, the rate of labor force participation amongst

women decreases. Lastly, the employed women who are subjected to the policies,

laws and regulations are under the coverage of the SSI. The women who are in

informal jobs, in other words the women work in the black market do not have such

privileges.

The Labor Law gives to fathers only 3 days paid leave. Although the New

Civil Code, referring to the Article 41, enhances the equality between the spouses, the

Labor Law breaks this amendment accepted by the National Assembly in November

2001. The father is no longer “the head of the household”, but the woman is still the

only one responsible for bringing up and caring for children. Since the Labor Law is

more obligatory than the Civil Code for employers and companies, the role of women

at home is reinforced. Despite that maternity leave and child care benefits are

considered as better, they are not distributed equally between men and women. The

dependency of the families on women increases, while women are occupy a more

passive role within social life. By looking at regulations and policy debates of labor

force participation in the area of family in the 2000s, the world has been divided into

two camps: working place integrated to “wild capitalism” in which the men act and

mild houses adorned with children where the women dominate (MÜSİAD).

11

The regulations, laws and policies about maternity leave make men more

preferable than women especially in the private sector, as the lawyer of TİSK, Derya

Karadağ says. Although the employers do not have to pay women during maternity

leave, women keep from their working place for a remarkable amount of time, from

16 weeks to up to 6 more months to take care of children. Therefore, employers prefer

men to women. “It is cheaper employing a man than employing a woman.” she says,

and adds “the men by keeping off only for 3 days do not lose their connections, skills

and even, their positions. On the other hand, when a woman comes back, she can find

another person at her chair.”.

The maternity leave only covers the under the coverage of the SSI, although

there is a huge amount of women who are unpaid family worker, working on its

behalf and work in informal jobs. Therefore the numbers about women employment

and the women who are victimized by the maternity leave does not reflect the reality

in some sense. Especially, the textile industry is the place where informal women

employment is high in the provinces like Istanbul, Adana and Denizli (Ayan,

Kocacık, 2011). Apart from the child labor, there are many women working with the

fear of losing their children in the scope of maternity leave regulations. Since they do

not work in jobs not requiring qualified workers, they can easily be substituted.

Maternity Leave as Catalyst in Turkish Female Labor Force

Participation

Turkey is known with its conservative family structure in which women have

certain domestic roles like house cleaning or cooking, but especially childbearing and

babysitting. These two heavy duties retained woman from entering the labor market.

According to TÜİK’s report, the most given reasons for these issues were “woman’s

main responsibilities are childbearing and babysitting”, “workingwoman’s children

12

can be aggrieved” and “it is against our traditions”. This report reflects our hypothesis

where we stated the fact that neo-conservatism discourages labor force participation

of women while neo-liberalism encourages it for its own purposes.

Table 4: The reasons given why women should not work (by gender)

Reasons Women Men

Woman’s main responsibilities are childbearing and

babysitting 65.7% 61.6%

Work enviroment is not safe for a woman 9% 15.4%

It is against our traditions 14.4% 12.2%

Workingwoman’s children can be aggrieved 6.8% 6.7%

Paid employment exhausts woman 2.9% 2.1%

Other 1.2% 1.9%

Source: TÜİK's Family Structure Research in 2006 (Cited from Kılıç & Öztürk; Translated into English)

There is a significant difference in labor force participation rate between

married and unmarried woman. Unmarried woman tends to be more active in labor

force in every age category whereas married woman “kept at home” by the

conservative family values. This argument can also be verified by TÜİK’s data which

indicates that motherhood status (having a child or not) effects the female labor force

participation. As it can be seen on the graphs, married women have lower

participation rate because of the certain duties like childbearing or child caring. This

comparison also preserves its validity when we change our variable from martial

status to motherhood status: women with a child have lower force participation. To

sum up, this statistics show that childbearing and child caring are formidable barriers

to female labor force participation.

13

At this point, maternity leave seems to be the only solution to save women

from conservative perceptions like “workingwoman’s children can be aggrieved” or

similar excuses. Maternity leave will not only helpful for the women by raising the

labor force participation, it will also beneficial for society by maintain gender equality

and fertility rate. “Maternity leave policies have been enacted to maintain women’s

participation in the labor force after childbirth, promote gender equality by helping

women uphold their position in the labor force, and encourage couples to have more

14

children (Gerber, 2009).” 10In this context, we will analyze the effects of maternity

leave on female labor force participation. New Turkish maternity leave law has been

updated in 2003 due to EU Harmonization Process and has a relatively more generous

offer than the previous one. We will examine the effect of new maternity leave on the

female labor force participation by referring to the related statistics before and after

the year 2003.

Labor Force Participation of Woman in Urban Areas

Year

Working

Age

Population

Labor

Force Employment

Labor Force

Participation

Employment

Rate

2013 19,263 5,396 4,511 28,0% 23,4%

2012 19,032 4,964 4,193 26,1% 22,0%

2011 18,736 4,655 3,885 24,8% 20,7%

2010 18,519 4,396 3,575 23,7% 19,3%

2009 18,321 4,084 3,252 22,3% 17,7%

2008 17,979 3,739 3,117 20,8% 17,3%

2007 17,770 3,513 2,947 19,8% 16,6%

2006 17,510 3,413 2,853 19,5% 16,3%

2005 17,263 3,236 2,685 18,7% 15,6%

2004 17,125 3,039 2,495 17,7% 14,6%

2003 14,942 2,768 2,262 18,5% 15,1%

2002 14,618 2,787 2,267 19,1% 15,5%

2001 14,270 2,488 2,074 17,4% 14,5%

2000 13,818 2,379 2,070 17,2% 15,0%

Source: TÜİK

As TÜİK’s data shows, there is a significant and consistent increase in female labor

force participation after 2003. Even the 2008 Financial Crisis could not interrupt this

consistent upward trend. Maternity leave cannot be the only factor that affects this

situation but it is the most powerful one. Education level is another factor that plays

10Gerber, Theodore, and BriennaPerelli-Harris. "Maternity Leave in Turbulent Times: Effects on Labor

Market Transitions and Fertility in Russia, 1985-2000." Max Planck Institute (2009). Print.

15

an important role in labor force participation.11 But TÜİK’s data show that the effect

of maternity leave is more overwhelming than education level because the labor force

participation increased for every woman regardless of their education level.

Labor Force Participation of Woman According to Education Level (Percentage %)

Education Level 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Primary School and Below 17,3 22,2 20,6 22,4 21,3 21,0 23,3

Secondary School 12,5 15,8 15,5 17,3 15,7 17,8 18,1

High School 22,8 20,1 21,9 24,2 21,8 24,3 27,2

University and Above 55,6 55,9 53,4 54,4 57,7 57,6 56,1

Source: TÜİK's Household Budget Survey (Cited from Kılıç & Öztürk; Translated into English)

Therefore, we can attribute this success to the minor improvement in the new

maternity leave law. Kılıç and Öztürk’s empirical analysis shows that the most

significant factor avoiding female labor force participation is motherhood/martial

status and proves the new maternity leave law’s success.12 Same success stories can

also be found in the U.S., Great Britain, and Japan, maternity leave has a positive

effect on labor force participation and employment.13 However, this “success” is not

enough neither for economy nor women. Turkish female labor force participation is

still behind the OECD average. Even Afghanistan, a member of the Least Developed

Countries, has higher female labor force participation than our country.

11 Ercan, Hakan (2007). Youth Employment in Turkey. Ankara: ILO. 12Kılıç, D.ve Öztürk, S. (2014)

“Türkiye’deKadınlarınİşgücüneKatılımıÖnündekiEngellerveÇözümYolları: BirAmpirikUygulama”,

AmmeİdaresiDergisi, 47(1): 107-130. 13Waldfogel, Jane, and Masahiro Abe. Maternity Leave Policies and Women's Employment after

Childbirth: Evidence from the United States, Britain and Japan. London: Centre for Analysis of Social

Exclusion, London School of Economics and Political Science, 1998. Print.

16

At this point, Turkey’s 2023 target, becoming one of the top ten world

economies, seems to be unrealistic and unattainable. Female labor force participation

is the greatest key for invigorating the economy. Boosting the production and

stimulating the economic growth can only be achieved by increasing a work force.

Government should improve the maternity leave law to encourage women for

becoming a direct contributor to the economy. Social policies like childcare subsidies

may also escalate the female labor force participation rate in short term but the long-

termed and sustainable solution is increasing the education level. This will also help

to change the society’s gender perceptions that restrict woman’s economic activities.

The Future of Maternity Leave

Women are supposed to fulfill multiple tasks simultaneously as being a

housewife, a business woman or a mother as to the social roles assigned to them

around the world. Specifically, Turkey, where neoconservative political discourses

are rising and neoliberal market principles are prevailing, is considered is that the

17

women employment is insufficient and that the existing measures have to be

improved (Acar, Altunok, 2012)

The ideal system should be shaped around three basic levels, in order to meet

global measures and local needs in Turkey:

1) Whether governments have passed the laws and enacted the policies necessary

to support working parents in order to care for their families,

2) Whether the authorities implement effectively these laws and policies,

3) What outcomes occur after the implementation of these laws and policies and

whether the state can cope with these outcomes (Earle, Heymann, McNeill,

2013).

When the concern is passing laws and enacting the policies necessary to

support working parents, Turkey can be considered as close to the ideal. Since the

Constitution of the Turkish Republic provides a base for the arrangements about this

issue, and the prevailing ideology is neo-conservatism, “family policies” can easily be

put in order. Especially, during the AKP government maternity leave has been a

significant area regulated with bag laws and new adjustments in Turkish Labor Force

and the New Civil Code (Acar, Altunok, 2012).

Although Turkey might be accepted as good at the level one, there are

remarkable problems at level two. In practice of the laws and policies do not match

the reality of Turkey. Turkey still has the lowest women employment rate among

OECD countries14, and these regulations decrease the rate rather than increasing. As

Derya Karadağ says, the Turkish state makes the companies and employees the only

responsible for the maternity leave. Therefore, the state takes the planning and

protecting roles on itself by laws and policies, while the companies and employees

14 OECD Report about Gender Brief, Prepared by the OECD Social Policy Division, 2010

18

have to deal with the lack of their employer, and after the child care services. As a

result, such kind of an implementation makes men more preferable than women.

However, she adds like certain EU countries have, Turkey can constitute semiprivate

enterprises which provide temporary labor force in order to substitute the women in

maternity leave. Hence, the companies can maintain their profit and regular works

without losing any labor force. Under such a circumstance, women can return their

jobs and the rate of women employment can be preserved at the same level, even it

might reach higher levels.

In addition to the burden of maternity leave process on employees, another

remarkable point is that all the responsibility of child care services following

maternity leave process is on the companies. From the day nurseries to the legal

responsibilities of children, all responsibilities belong to the employees. Therefore, in

order to avoid harsh legal sanctions, they abstain from employing women. Feyza

Altun Meriç, who is a mother lawyer, mentions this point in the report she served to

the National Assembly in March, 2015. She complains about the lack of day care

complexes in working place for the children and she adds that women prefer not to

work in such conditions rather than working, in addition to the unwillingness of the

employees. The solution to solve this problem might be equal sharing of the

responsibilities between the state, companies and private enterprises which serve daily

care for children. Thus, women do not have to be keep from work, companies can be

supported and new areas of employment can be created.

The most significant outcome of the laws and policies implemented is that

they appeal to a narrow scope. They only include the women who have a high

education degree and the women who are under the coverage of SSI. Nevertheless,

working women in Turkey also include the informal jobs and the women who are not

19

aware of their rights, but dependent on their works in order to survive. This group of

women represents the weakest chain of working women. They are vulnerable to all

harsh attitudes from the employees, and having a baby, thus leaving maternity leave is

the end of their career. This condition forces women to work in aberrant jobs like part

time jobs, home jobs and temporary jobs without insurance, as the lawyer of Türk-İş

Hülya Uzuner says. In order to lower labor cost, she says, employees prefer flexible

people who refer to men are preferred. However, this problem can be solved through

reinforcing the rights of the workers to organize and make them more visible than

current case. Moreover, the improvement is about creating awareness and making

ways to reveal women’s capacities in patriarchal Turkish society.

It is significant to understand that women employment and maternity leave

contradictions cannot be solved only by passing laws and enacting policies. The

process is three-fold: creation process, implementation process, and improving

process. Not only forming laws, policies and regulations are not sufficient to solve the

problem in practice. The maternity leave case and, in accordance with maternity

leave, women employment need deeper attempts from different actors: the state,

employees and the citizens.

Conclusion

From all the aspects we covered in this research it is possible to argue that

maternity leave in Turkey is a social challenge which exposes the strong alliance

between neo-liberal and neo-conservative ideologies about the issue of women.

Although these two popular ideologies tend to approach women from different

perspectives both socially and economically, the outcome they produce has a

repressive future for women. Since the women are under siege at the work place by

the expectations of free market economy their right of maternity leave is under

20

pressure, moreover their labor is flexified by this influence. On the other hand at

household, women are subjected to pressure to look after their children and not return

to their formal job. They are expected to work either at home or expected not to work

in case of child raising. Therefore they are not using the advantages of childcare

subsidies and the related substructure that states provide. This is the pressure of neo-

conservatism on women. So to conclude from all its legal and political status

maternity leave is a very significant case for women that summarizes the condition of

women in the contemporary world.

21

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