Continuing with the series of Work and Pregnancy, today we are going to deal with one of the most thorny points that exist within the map of women's labor integration into the labor market and the objective causes that a company can have to show preference in incorporation from the male sex to a certain position. Evidence is evident that half of pregnant women are unemployed.
Many companies show rejection of hiring young women, of childbearing age or who have or can intuit the intention of having children in the short term. Do youWhat reasons do companies have to show this rejection? Mainly, the reasons are economic, given that the company loses money with a maternity leave.
Economic reasons for not hiring women
Hiring a woman in the company has a latent economic risk due to the hypothetical suspension of the employment contract during the period of maternity leave and lactation period. As we spoke last week, a woman is entitled to a suspension of the 16-week work contract as a general rule for maternity leave.
During this period, the payroll of the low woman is paid by the INSS, but the company has to bear the costs of social security borne by the company, given that during this period, women continue to contribute to social security. This cost is approximately 32% of the contribution base. By making round numbers, a company has an expense equivalent to 1.5 times the payroll at least during the period of maternity leave.
In addition to this direct cost, we have the replacement cost of the job performed by women if the company needs to fill the position during those 16 weeks. Logically, the incorporation of a person who replaces the pregnant woman implies a selection and adequate training for the position.
In the case of Social Security bonuses, the Social Security business contributions are exempted from payment, so that for practical purposes, the maternity leave that materializes with a replacement contract substantially dampens the costs, but does not make them zero completely.
The most important problem originates in small and medium enterprises, where replacements of pregnant workers are more complicated and the business mentality is anchored in the past, in aspects of labor integration.
Without going any further, today, men who have the right to parental leave continue to be reluctant to request parental leave for fear of company pressure or a hypothetical dismissal, although at least, this mentality is changing little to little bit.
Finally, the rupture of schedules as a result of the birth, the period of breastfeeding or the medical needs of the mother and baby during the first years of life of the child, require an important tolerance on the part of the company that results in situations of greater or less complexity depending on the type of work and specific position performed in each company.
Solutions to consider
Since companies continue to show a wide sexism when hiring a man or woman to perform the same job, the Ministry of Equality itself should contemplate an equitable distribution of maternity leave in all cases. That is, in total, a couple is entitled to 18 weeks of parental leave, so it would be a good position that 9 weeks must be enjoyed for each of the members of the couple.
At the labor level, the same uncertainty would be generated for men and women due to a situation of replacement and the possibility of business economic decline in the face of a birth, given that, in a mandatory way, a man will also enjoy 9 weeks of maternity leave.
This distribution between the couple, improves simultaneously the problems to the companies. That is, for a company it supports 9 weeks of absence better than 16 and at any given time, it is likely that it does not even need to fill the job in a timely manner.
Finally, it is enough that we put ourselves in the shoes of an autonomous woman who has had a child or a legal professional as a lawyer or solicitor, so that we see in the first person how there is no right to maternity leave or how to achieve compatibility The birth of the baby with work.
Companies have compelling reasons to opt for men against women and it is a social task that has to be put in place so that differences between men and women can be eliminated in the face of the arrival of a new member in the home.
