Managing Family and Career: Australian Women’s Labour Force Transitions after Maternity Leave

Abstract

The increase in women’s return to paid work after maternity or parental leave in advanced societies has garnered much scholarly attention, particularly on women’s participation positively contributing to the labour market and economy. Moreover, the link between supporting employees with caregiving responsibilities, attracting, retaining and developing talent, and business competitiveness is now well-documented. However, women’s pregnancy, maternity or parental leave, and return to paid work remain key legal, policy and Human Resource Management challenges for many organisations. This dilemma between policy implementation and how organisations mishandle women’s return to work, is exemplified in the findings from the Australian Sex Discrimination Commissioner’s 2013 National Review into discrimination related to pregnancy, parental leave and return to work. This article is concerned with two questions: How do women manage the combination and juggle of their paid work, caring and return to work? How are gendered inequities are sustained and reproduced in the return to work, despite access to the best available maternity or parental leave policy? This article addresses these questions by examining data from a completed longitudinal qualitative study on women’s return work in higher education and retail sectors in Australia in the 21st century. Drawing on women’s experiences across three interviews over two years, this article argues that access to the best available policy is not enough to manage multiple uncertainties at the return to work. Household, child care and workplace culture and practices are paramount and require a considered approach to support women’s return to work.