Media Release
Monday 24 May 2010

Paid Maternity Leave will win the vote of Australian Working Women

In their race to win the support of Australia’s working families at the next federal election, both parties have recently announced their paid maternity leave policies.  But will this sway votes? Survey insights released today by Kidspot, owner of Australia’s leading pregnancy and parenting websites www.birth.com.au and www.kidspot.com.au show that this platform will be vital to winning the female vote.

About the research- The research insights are based on a quantitative study of 363 women conducted between May 10th – May 14th using online survey software across leading parenting websites: www.kidspot.com.au and www.birth.com.au

Summary of key findings:
  • 52% of all respondents said a new paid maternity leave policy will directly influence their vote
62% of all women employed full time and 54% of all women employed part time said the policy will                                  directly influence their vote
  • 1/3 of all survey respondents said that the policy will directly influence the number of children they have
45% of all women employed full time said that it will directly influence the number of children they have
60% of current stay at home mothers said the policy would not influence their decision to return to work
  • 60% of all respondents said that the policy will directly influence the amount of maternity leave they take
75% of all women employed full time said that the policy will directly influence the amount of maternity                              leave they take in the future

The survey results strongly suggest that a paid maternity leave policy is the most important political promise to working women in Australia. 52% of all women confirmed that the amount of paid maternity leave will directly influence their vote – 32% said it wouldn’t and 16% weren’t sure. Of the total respondents who are currently employed, 62% of full time working women and 54% of part time working women will be directly swayed by a paid maternity leave policy. It’s apparent that families with total household income of less than $100k per annum see the most benefit from the policy with 56% of women in these households reporting that their vote will be influenced by it.






















A potential baby-boom
Predictably, one of the flow-on effects of a successful paid maternity leave policy would be a mini population explosion. 1/3 of all survey respondents confirmed this by saying that the policy will directly influence the number of children they have.  This increases considerably when isolated to just those respondents currently working full time – with 45% of all full time working women reporting that the policy will influence their decision to have another child. Interestingly, 43% of women in households with a combined annual income of greater than $150k said that a paid maternity leave policy would directly influence their decision to have another child – the highest rate of any of the respondent income brackets.





















The impact on employers
While the new policy may be music to the ears of Australian working women, employers across the nation will need to plan for the implication of any policy revision. Although the respondents were split evenly (45% will and 45% won’t) when asked whether a paid maternity leave policy would directly influence their decision to return to work after having a child, close to 60% of current stay at home mothers will not be swayed to return to work as a result of the policy.




















An incentive to take more leave?
Of more concern to employers though is the likely impact that a paid maternity leave policy will have on the length of maternity leave women may now choose to take. Almost 60% of all respondents confirmed that this policy will directly influence the amount of time off work they take in the future. Once again the trend increases when confined to women who work full time – a full 75% of full time female employees reported that the policy will directly affect the length of maternity leave they will take. Only 7% of women employed full time said that it wouldn’t directly influence the amount of leave taken.




















Although the underlying reasons may vary from mother to mother, the insights are consistent across a range of data points with respect to the importance of a paid maternity leave policy. 70% of respondents also confirmed that they view paid ‘parental’ leave to be a very important political pledge. 
  • 19% of respondents said paid ‘parental’ leave is important due to the level of financial security it would give parents
  • 12% think it is important because of the bonding opportunity it gives parents
  • 11% believe the current packages being discussed are not offering enough

In the words of the respondents themselves:
“A great idea, we are contributing to the development of our country, so it is an added bonus for doing so! I wish it would have come in sooner!”
“Totally agree with it - use it instead of Baby Bonus”
“I am strongly in favour of maternity leave.  It is mad that Australia and America are the only OECD countries without paid maternity leave.”
“I think it supports women having babies and also having a career or working without too much financial stress on the family.”
“When a woman loses all income when the baby comes, it’s a lot of pressure on the husband to make ends meet. It will be a $3000 a month loss for us when we have a child. At least the $543 a week will help ease that.”

What women really want
When asked what particular policy would win their vote as a mother, paid maternity leave and childcare related policies were the stand out winners.
  • 41% of respondents want a more flexible paid maternity leave policy than the one currently proposed, while   22% felt the proposed policy is fine.
  • 24% want a childcare related policy that makes it “more affordable” and provides “better childcare availability”.
  • 8% would be swayed by a Healthcare related policy
  • 5% are interested in an Environmental policy
  • 4% said that a Tax Reform policy would win their vote.

"Giving parents some basic economic certainty to enter into the biggest, scariest - and most important - role of their life represents a major move forward for government." Kidspot’s Executive Editor, Alex Brooks said. "Australia has been behind the rest of the world in terms of recognising that families need some assistance to enter into parenthood.  Kidspot's survey shows paid parental leave has a more direct influence on the number of children women will have, which ultimately will improve Australia's fertility rate and future economic performance."

ENDS

For further information or to arrange an interview with Alex Brooks, please contact:
Natalie Mactier
Kidspot.com.au Pty Ltd
Ph 03 9697 0855
Email – nmactier@kidspot.com.au

About the research
The research insights are based on a quantitative study of 363 women conducted between May 10th and May 14th using online survey software across leading parenting websites: www.kidspot.com.au and www.birth.com.au

About Kidspot
www.kidspot.com.au is the leading parenting website in Australia and New Zealand. Around 770,000 mums rely on the comprehensive directory, online community, parenting information & advice, family friendly recipes and kid’s activities each month.

About Birth
www.birth.com.au is the most reliable source of Australian “expert” information on conception, pregnancy & birth. A 10 year labour of love by the authors of ‘Birth’ the book of the same name, the site attracts almost 230,000 unique browsers per month. Birth’s engaged users are active in the Birthtalk forums and established pregnancy community.