When Maternity Leave Doesn’t Exist
The lack of maternity leave in the U.S. — paid or unpaid — is holding women entrepreneurs back, despite the potential for public policy to help.
For many entrepreneurs, and most freelancers and consultants, if you’re not working, you’re not getting paid. And working can be exceptionally difficult immediately preceding and following the birth of a newborn baby. For women who are solopreneurs, the lack of income during a self-imposed maternity leave can mean risking the viability of their businesses. In later stages of pregnancy, a woman entrepreneur may be viewed as a less desirable vendor, and during any kind of leave a new mom takes, existing clients may leave to assign work elsewhere.
Women entrepreneurs who experience pregnancy complications or whose newborns require additional medical attention following birth are at even direr disadvantage. There is no safety net. The threat of lost work is real, and the government offers no protection for lost wages. The ability to disconnect — even for a few days — is not realistic for many women in solo ventures.
When we look at policies that can make entrepreneurship more accessible to working mothers, legislatively advocating for paid maternity benefits should be included in the discussion. Answering emails from a hospital bed isn’t a source of pride but rather a reality for many women entrepreneurs and freelancers. We hear advice like “make the most out of nap time,” “hire a personal assistant,” or “work ahead,” but this patchwork of micro-solutions is doing a disservice to women entrepreneurs who want to become mothers. It also ignores the larger cultural context in which the onus for balancing childcare and career falls disproportionately on mothers, in addition to attending to their own needs after a major medical trauma.
We know that the U.S. is the only industrialized country that does not mandate paid family leave of any kind. Here is a partial list of countries that offer paid benefits to not only traditionally employed women, but also self-employed moms, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development:
Australia: Employees and self-employed who have: worked for at least 10 of the 13 months before the birth and for 330 hours in that 10 month period; received an adjusted taxable income of AUD 150,000 or less in the preceding financial year; and are currently on leave or not working.
Belgium: Self-employed women are entitled to 12 weeks of maternity leave through a separate system, paid at a flat rate.
Costa Rica: Women employees and self-employed with at least 3 consecutive months of contributions immediately before the birth or 6 months in the 12 months prior to the birth.
Chile: All women employees with at least 6 months of contributions, including at least 3 months of contributions in the 6 months preceding the leave. Self-employed women must have 12 months of contributions and at least 6 months of contributions in the 12 months preceding the leave.
Czech Republic: Employees with at least 270 days of contributions during the 2 years preceding leave. Self-employed workers must also have 180 days’ contributions during the last year. Students are entitled to the benefit.
Denmark: Employees who have worked at least 120 hours in the 13 weeks preceding the leave. Self-employed workers must have worked for at least 6 months in the 12 months preceding the leave, including in the 1 month directly preceding the leave.
Estonia: All employees with contracts lasting at least 1 month, and all self-employed.
Hungary: All women employees and self-employed with at least 365 calendar days of employment in the 2 years preceding the leave.
Israel: All women employees and self-employed with at least 10 months of contributions in the 14 months preceding the leave.
Italy: All insured women employees and registered self-employed.
Latvia: All women employees and self-employed with 12 months of insurance contributions in the 24 months preceding the leave.
Lithuania: All women employees and self-employed with 12 months of insurance contributions in the 24 months preceding the leave.
Luxembourg: All women employees and self-employed with 6 months of insurance contributions in the 12 months preceding the leave.
Malta: All women employees and self-employed.
Poland: All insured women employees and self-employed.
Slovak Republic: Employees and self-employed with 270 days of insurance contributions during the 2 years preceding the leave.
Slovenia: All currently insured women employees and self-employed.
Spain: Women employees and self-employed with 180 days of contributions in the 7 years immediately preceding the birth of the child or 360 days of contributions across the whole working life.
Switzerland: All women employees and self-employed who have worked for at least 5 months over the 9 months preceding the birth and that have 9 months of insurance contributions over their lifetime.
When these countries include self-employed women in their paid statutory maternity leave policies, they are not only validating the economic contributions of self-employed women to their national economies, but also facilitating a smooth transition to returning to the workforce.
As reflected in the list, the particulars regarding how and to whom these benefits are provided vary from country to country. As a larger percentage of the U.S. workforce turns to the gig economy, especially with soaring rates among the Millennials and Gen-Zers who will be having the bulk of new babies over the next several years, the richest country in the world will soon have to reconcile this issue.
