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How Maternity Leave Is Failing Canadian Women
Increasing the birthrate. Letting mothers take care of their young children without damaging their careers. Extended maternity leave was enacted for all the right reasons. So what went wrong?
“At the end of the day, there’s a
difference between a job and a career,” says Kendra Schumacher, a 36-year-old Toronto mother of a two-year-old son, who now works as a digital strategist. Previously, Schumacher was an art director for seven years. She personally trained her replacement before going on mat leave. While she was away, the company was sold. Her infill worker left and was replaced by a stranger. “The person in my role stayed on,” says Schumacher about her return to work. But Schumacher wasn’t given all her duties back. “I went from art director to managing an Excel spreadsheet,” she says. Her new supervisor was friendly but not interested in her ideas.
Schumacher’s salary didn’t change, but that wasn’t the point. “I was clearly not allowed to fulfill what I had worked so hard to do,” she says. When a junior designer went on maternity leave, Schumacher was assigned to that job, which she considered a demotion. She confronted her supervisor about his long-term plans for her. “He said, ‘There are none.’” Schumacher decided to look for another job rather than force the issue.
Mothers who feel pushed out of their jobs due to lost responsibility or a hostile environment might have grounds for a charge of “constructive dismissal”—being fired in effect, if not in actuality. But few career women want things to escalate to that point. After spending years achieving the education and experience to win jobs that match their ambitions, most are loath to let a year of parental leave push them off track.
Of course, there’s more to these cases than just a dishonest or unhelpful employer. Neal B. Sommer is a Toronto lawyer who specializes in wrongful dismissals and human-rights complaints. He handles about four cases of alleged parental-leave discrimination a year and has seen a number of recurring flashpoints between employers and new parents. One of the most common occurs when practices have moved forward during the year. There might be new software to learn or certain duties may now be outsourced, and the new mother finds herself playing catch-up. “The mother wants to come back to the job as it was, while the employer needs her to do the job that exists today,” says Sommer.
Workplaces are competitive, and the energy of junior employees and temps might highlight weaknesses in the departing parent. “People don’t like to hear it, but the person replacing you may be better than you are,” says Sommer. Sometimes employers are faced with a difficult choice when a returning employee is less productive than a replacement.
Technically, bosses can only fire parents for “exceptional” reasons—that is, reasons unrelated to their leave or intention to take one. Toronto workplace lawyer Daniel Lublin, whose firm handles an estimated 100 parental-leave cases every year, says employers may use the “exceptional” clause as a firing loophole. It’s intended only for rare situations, such as a plant shutting down: The job is gone, and there’s nothing comparable to offer the mother.
When Lublin represents the parents in pregnancy- and parental-leave-discrimination cases, he generally fights to increase the damages they are awarded. The stingy payouts are another sign of how undervalued working parents are in Canada. In those cases where Ontario and B.C. Human Rights Tribunals ruled in favour of the mother, no award was over $20,000. Considering that many mothers on parental leave use up their EI allowance, that amount is barely enough for a few months of job-hunting.
Even those mothers who manage to hang on to their jobs face what Reva Seth calls “unintentional discrimination.” Seth is founder of The MomShift, an online campaign celebrating women who achieved career success after having children. She found that about 80 percent of the 300 women she interviewed for an upcoming book were frustrated by the belief that new moms want to take it easy. They complained that as soon as they announced their pregnancies, their managers assumed they’d prefer to downshift.
Post mat leave, moms are no longer invited to after-work power drinks, or are overlooked for demanding projects. “Usually people think they’re helping,” says Seth. In interviews with senior managers, Seth has advised them to avoid such assumptions. Often, she says, the reverse is true: Motherhood helps women sharply focus their career goals.
Schumacher says that leaving her young child in daycare was a wrenching decision that she made in part because of the satisfaction she gets from her work. In turn, parenthood has made her more decisive and improved her multi-tasking. She’s often among the first at her desk in the morning—“You’re up so damn early it becomes part of your routine”—and she’s willing to plug back in for a few hours when her son is asleep. “From a career point of view,” Schumacher says, “a child isn’t a hindrance.”
Next: Can the disconnect of time off
be reduced?
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35 comments
While this article was an interesting cautionary tale for the challenges moms (and dads) might face with employers, it negates to mention the two biggest issues with Canada's maternity leave benefits: 1) It is tied to income, so mothers in the lowest income brackets receive the least support (which is counter to the idea of supporting new families) 2) It is tied to employment. If you are unemployed, a student or at home with a child when you become pregnant, you will receive no income support.
This leaves both employees and employers in an untenable situation - moms have to return to work when baby #1 is a year old if they wish to bank EI hours to get support for baby #2. This lengthens the overall career interruption, makes it difficult to plan to take a period off, have all the kids you plan to etc. It may also be contributing to smaller family sizes (as children are more widely spaced, and moms wait until they are more secure in their jobs)
As an employer, I have even had employees hide their pregnancy when applying for permanent work so they could get the job before their mat leave. I would strongly advocate for a set parental support amount that is provided to a new parent regardless of income or employment status (in fact you could claw back from higher income families) - allowing families to plan their kids, have them back to back if desired and them return to work when they are ready. Obviously, durations of job protection would have to be separated from this idea.
Let me guess, brainwash Canadian women into giving up their one year mat. leave. Stephen Harper won't rest until he dismantles everything good about Canada. ....
In a way it was nice to find out the problem is systemic - and wasn't just me. I was downsized 3 months after returning to a job that was stripped of all "real" responsibility. They said the position was no longer needed - within 9 months they hired someone in a similar position but changed the job title. So much for non-profit sector being any better to its people.
The majority of the focus in this article seemed to be about the challenges for some when returning to work after mat leave. One key thing that was skimmed right over, is the fact that yes, you can take a year off, "paid", if you and your new family, (with many new and extra expenses), can AFFORD to live on 55% or less since it is capped! In my case it was actually 42% of my usual wage, which forced me to go back after 8.5 months, at which point we had already racked up debt that we never had before. We did not want a huge age gap between our children, so we had our second (and last) child 2.5 years later. I was only able to stay off 4 months so that we didn't totally sink ourselves in debt. It certainally didn't work out to be just as easy-peasy as it is made out to be! The reality is, very few people are able to live on a fraction of their income with extra expenses to cover in the mean time. And by the way, I have been working and PAYING INTO the EI system for 20 years! Quite frankly, I feel that those who don't work and are on welfare get many more handouts than the rest of us on OUR backs!
I had 2 maternity leaves with the same organization and they were extremely accommodating. Sometimes it's where you work that will determine your experience.
I've had two maternity leaves with two different employers. Both of my employers were very accommodating and I found the transition back to work to be easy and almost seamless. With my second leave I didn't have a full year so my employer did not have to guarantee my position when I returned. To ensure there was no question about returning, my director worked with HR to put me on a 14 month leave, not tied to maternity (my request for extra time). In both cases, my employer saw the value of me as an employee and they also recognised the importance of the maternity leave program for ensuring healthy Canadian families. My employers also never asked me if I would be returning. They just made sure everything was in order if I did.
I have taken 2 trips down the maternity leave route now. I enjoyed my year but looked forward to going back to work. My employer was great. They worked with me to juggle all of my duties. And when I came back off of my second maternity leave i got a raise. They even moved me to a new position and told me to make my own hours around our family schedule as i have a husband who works away half the year.
I know that there are challenges and problems with the Maternity leave system in Canada. But I would still like to say that I am grateful that there is anything available to us. I took Mat. leave with my 1st and 3rd, with my second I was self employed so I saved 1/2 my income for a year to give myself a year off afterwards. Consider the plight of American women who have nothing. Yes, some of the challenges need to be addressed but we should also be grateful that we have something.
I have taken two maternity leaves with the same employer and both have been great. I am so appreciative for my year off with each of my children, I could not imagine only having 6 months or less. We made do with the less income, because the trade off was worth totally worth it. My employer was great in ensuring my transition back was relatively seamless after both leaves, and no aspect of my job changed during either of my leaves. I consider my experience a win for me and my family.
This article is BS. A years maternity leave is awesome. So what if your position is down graded at least you have a year with your baby, money, and then a job to go back to. If all you care about is maintains status quo with your company then don't get pregnant or move to the States where there is no mat leave or jobs.
If you can not afford to have children, then you should not be having children. Period. Someone commented about how they only get 55% of their income while they are off. Be grateful you get ANYTHING! You are NOT working, or contributing to your employer while you have decided to raise your own family, you really expect the government to hand you 100% of what you would have been making if you were working? That is absolutely ridiculous. If you can not afford to raise a child on ZERO income from one spouse for one year, then I am sorry, you are in no financial situation to be having children. Back in the day, when women stayed at home to raise children, the government did not pay them a salary to do so. No, they had to make sure that they as a family had enough income with one working parent to support the household. And if not, well then you didn't have a child. I support what is currently in place for new mothers, 1 year mat leave and the government will give you half of what you would have made if you were working, AND guarantee you a job is still available for you when you are done..geez, what more do you want people?? EI is not here to fund your family plans and to fulfill your lifeling desire of having children, it is to help people out who are on hard times, and if your times are so hard...why are you having children? iI 55% is not enough for you, then you fall into that bracket of people unready to have children. Be grateful you get anything at all!
I was fortunate to be a contract worker for a Union when i became pregnant with my son, 12 years ago. His delivery coincided three months before the January 2001 full year maternity leave. Being said, i had finished out an already existing unemployment claim and then went right into my maternity benefits (six months at the time). For all new mothers out there, i think one year off guarantee should stand as it's not just us that make the sacrifice to our bodies, careers and families. There is most likely a partner there as well who is keen on the new arrival. People everywhere say it's all about family but losing your position at work is stressful to think of and shouldn't be a factor or punishment in being fired for having a family.
The article does not talk at all about the problems facing employers trying to maintain a position when someone is gone for one year. It also does not address the issue that taking more time off rather than less is never going to be better for your career, your family yes, your career no. As well have there been any studies on how many women realize they do not want to go back to work at all after learning to live on such a small percentage of their salaries?
I was laid off the day I returned from EI's maternity leave when my first child was born. I took it to the Labour Standards and Human Rights branches and was told I didn't have a case. Nor did I qualify for any more EI benefits because I had used them for maternity leave. Another parent in my child`s school is going through a nasty divorce. Her husband abandoned her and she has since learned that Legal Aid doesn`t do division of family assets or spousal or child support. The courts aren`t allowing her to sell any family assets because her husband hasn`t been served - he lives in Iran now. I feel for her and can`t imagine being in her shoes There is no infrastructure for families. Usually one parent has to fight on behalf of the children and their livelihood. If we truly believed in our children their needs would come first and they don`t. At least if women lived in Africa or perhaps Iran there wouldn`t be any expectation of a support system.
I'd like to know why this article isn't stating the company she worked for. They had no problem firing her, I've seen this happen 3 times and I'm only 30. That means companies know they can still punish women for choosing to have families, does anyone else want to know who this company is?
Some bad situations for sure, but if you take a year off you lose a year of experience and a year of seniority while others are chugging away. I work in law and the women that have kids at the firms I have been at are back in the office within 3 months or so because an entire year off in a profession that requires constantly staying on top of things can be difficult to bounce back from. While an employer has to hold your position for a year, they don't have to guarantee that your decision to take a year off doesn't slow down your career progress. It's a tough economy, jobs are hard to come by, there are lots of people willing to sacrifice anything for their career and millions of people in India, Malaysia and other english speaking countries who would happily work 48 hour weeks for 1/3 of what you get paid AND may have a better education than you do making outsourcing your job and attractive alternative to your employer, and you think there will be no ramifications of taking a year off to bond with your baby? Don't think it works that way anymore (if it ever did) so make whatever choice suits your life, but don't expect the rest of the world to bend over backwards to make it painless.
Nothing against women who face this, but sometimes the employees work ethic or capabilities could factor in. If you're an amazing employee chances are they will so everything in their power to keep you. If not, watch out someone may do a better job than you.
AGREE!
Well said!
Couldn't agree with more. Life is all about choices. You can spend your time at work or with family or try and do both with each suffering to some extent. Unless you negotiate a special deal with an employer that would rather have you part-time than not at all, which presumably means you have a valuable skill set, it is not your employers responsibility to ensure that your career is unaffected by your desire to be a mom or dad. There are more than enough people out there ready to fill your job without any distractions in their personal life, and millions of english speaking, educated people in India, Malaysia and other countries that will happily work 48 hours a week at 1/3 the pay if your job is outsourced. We all make choices, and if you choice is to spend time with your baby that is fantastic, I have kids and think time with kids is valuable, but I don't expect my employer to change the nature of my job to suit my personal life. I always have the choice of taking a different, slower paced, lower paying job, if I want to put "family first" at all times.
What a dumb comment. Let's put this in perpective- all those seniors out there who aren't working should not be given any benefits either or the disabled.
Considering Canada's low birth rate we should be encouraging women to have children so that theres someone to pay taxes when the rest stop working due to old age or disability.
Why should there be support for someone who is unemployed? You can't get something for nothing. Get a job, put in to the system, the system (should) pay you back. CHOOSE to be unemployed (because there's absolutely ZERO reason to be unemployed, imo), you continue to earn what you were making before you got pregnant: nothing.
I can't even begin to fathom your reasoning for why this should be different.
Of course it is... but that's the point of this article I think. It shouldn't be that way. Every woman should be able to get the same treatment when it comes to mat leave.
Harper has nothing to do with this. Stop your fear-mongering!
Very true. Entitled parasistes get more than hardworking hosts.:P No idea why.
You want a baby? The government and taxpayers should'n't subsidize poor planning! If oyu don't save up your own baby fund, then forget about having a baby. If you don't have a spouse that has a job that can support a family, that's your poor selection at work!
That right there is the problem. This article is showing that you can do everything right (by doing exactly what you said, saving for the year off, having a spouse with a job and planning everything out) but when you try to implement those hard made plans someone just changes the rules and people like you expect them to just get over it. Planning and personal savings only go so far when you all of a sudden find yourself without a job, its like being punished after trying to play by all the rules. That is where is inequality and problem is, never knowing if doing everything right will leave you behind.
It's not about not having enough money for a baby...it's about equality for men and women. When a man and woman decide to have a baby, the WOMAN must sacrifice the position she currently has and the money she currently makes for the baby. The man generally doesn't miss a beat. That's the inequality that the Act is trying to compensate for.
We can't tell our little girls to work hard and get your education so that you can succeed in life, and then tell her she just erased everything she worked so hard for in order to have a family with her husband. There has to be some rules in place so that she can at least tread water while she's off and not lose everything.
Obviously, you are a man and have not considered that women can be educated and strive for job satisfaction just as any man does.
How in the world did Steven Harper come into this. He didn't write this article and his rules didn't set up the maternity leave. Get real.
You really should be able to get maternity leave if you don't have a job. My wife and I are having a child and since she just finished a four year degree+ teachers college, she wasnt able to rack up enough hours at her new job before a swollen ankel related to the pregnancy forced her off work. Now, despite both of us having paid thousands in to EI and never claiming any of it, we are not able to get maternity leave. She missed the cutoff for hours by just under 200 which is like five weeks. Because I was also finishing school, I do not have hours either. I realize we were fortunate enough to be educated and its not like missing out on the mat leave is going to leave us destitute, but it woulda been nice. Kind of a dumb system.
No one told you to have a baby! Plan better next time you choose to procreate!
Again, totally agree with this comment. You know when you have enough hours to take mat leave so why try and get pregnant before you've hit that threshold? What were you thinking, and why should anyone care that you couldn't plan it better. You screwed up by 5 weeks so live with the consequences. Next time, check the calendar a little closer and get your timing right.
I agree who are you to tell someone when they should procrate? What about those who will never "have enough"? Should they just never have children even if they are good law abiding citizens? Also, having children can be low cost and it really helped us to get ahead having to live on nothing for a year. We clawed back so much that when I returned to work we have paid down about ten grand in debt prior to me getting pregnant with baby number two.
That is a ridiculous statement. The reason that we need to immigrate people here is because so many people are choosing not to have children. We should be encouraging people to have babies. Also, how many people use the EI system on a regular basis, and then there are those who pay into it and never use it, and now they have a baby and you make those kinds of statements. It's discriminatory against women and families!! You should move to the US with that kind of attitude. Who are you to tell someone when they should procreate or not. Having children actually keeps the economy going.
from a third world country: Canadians are so spoil by their goverment and they are still not satisfied and want more.