Maternity protection is an important dimension of work quality and gender equality. It is also necessary for sustaining social reproduction and economic production. The aims of maternity protection are to protect the health of mothers and their babies and minimize, and ultimately eradicate, the difficulties and disadvantages that working women face because of giving birth. The success of national and workplace strategies to promote gender equality at work are dependent on adequate and accessible maternity protection as well as family-friendly working conditions, benefits and services. Nevertheless, maternity protection can be perceived as a challenge by individual firms, especially small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Although rarely quantified, the cost of maternity protection in SMEs is widely perceived to be greater than the benefits and to lead to competitive disadvantage. The short and medium term benefits for firms are often expressed in terms of the retention of valued (women) workers and productivity. However, the longer term economic and social benefits of offering effective and accessible maternity protection to all women employees are often more difficult to demonstrate, or for SME employers to perceive, due to immediate resource issues, other economic challenges or cultural values and expectations.
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