Few experiences compare to the wonders of childbirth. Even when it is the nth time an addition to the family is made, it is always something to behold. The days that follow are not any less of a marvel. It can even be said that the challenges of those subsequent months—the sleepless nights, the endless crying, and the numerous decisions parents are confronted with—commands greater attention.

That is the principle behind maternity leave: Not only do mothers need to be granted a period of recovery from the labor of giving birth, they also require time to provide the tremendous care required by newborn children.

The recent passage of the Expanded Maternity Leave (EML) law is a step towards that end. Signed by President Rodrigo Duterte last February, the act entitles mothers to paid leave for 105 days and an optional 30 days without pay, as compared to the 60 days previously stipulated by law for normal childbirth and the 78 days for cesarean delivery.

For Senator Risa Hontiveros, who sponsored the bill, EML is a “massive victory” for women as it is for men. One of the key provisions of the new legislation allows a mother to transfer seven days of her paid maternity leave to the father of her child, regardless of whether or not they are civilly wed. Coupled with another seven days due to the terms of the Paternity Leave Act of 1996 (RA 8187), this translates to two weeks of paid paternity leave that fathers may now avail of.  

“Parenting is a collective effort, and pregnancy is both a delicate and precious time,” Hontiveros said in a press release. “Pregnancy and child care are not the responsibility of women alone.”

However, reality might still be a ways away from that vision of gender equality. Although well-intentioned, EML may end up reinforcing the same patriarchal values it set out to dismantle.

Mother’s intuition?

In a 2019 journal article entitled “The Folly of the Expanded Maternity Leave Law,” Attorney Emily Sanchez-Salcedo argues that the paternity leave benefit afforded by EML is futile. To begin with, the enforcement of the leave is entirely up to the discretion of the mother, who is unlikely to make that choice.

“That seven days can be allocated to the father only at the option of the mother,” she wrote. “But will they decide to do so if the father does not know how to soothe a crying baby?”

Sanchez-Salcedo explained that it is not that men are inherently incapable of doing so. Parenting, she said, is a skill that is learned, not a characteristic that is fundamental to one’s sex. Like with any other skill, it requires time which, in this case, is not equally divided between mother and father. Even in the scenario that the former entrusts a week of her maternity leave to the latter, she still has 98 days compared to his seven.

“The likely result is for the [mother] to develop greater expertise in childcare than the [father],” she said.  “This can eventually lead to a mutual desire, whether expressly agreed or quietly assumed, for the [mother] to take on more childcare responsibilities and for the [father] to take on less as his confidence in his own competence gradually erodes.”

In a 2013 essay, Sanchez-Salcedo illustrated the impact such a dynamic has had on family life. “When working wives need help in their childcare duties, they turn to other women within the family, or even outside the family instead of soliciting the assistance of their husbands,” she said.

A man’s world

The effects of EML also extend to the workplace, particularly in corporate hiring practices. In a survey conducted by the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), 68% to 70% of employers under the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) aired concerns over the “higher cost implications” of employing women since they are the main beneficiaries of the law.

Although the findings of the study are not conclusive proof that companies will begin hiring disproportionately against women, TUCP President Raymond Mendoza warns that the results are “tantamount to an admission” that employers will start doing so.

ECOP President Sergio Ortiz-Luiz echoed the sentiment. “It’s a law that we’ll try to implement although a lot of our small companies are unhappy,” he said in an interview with CNN. He added that financially unstable businesses will be hard pressed to cover the cost of a 105-day paid leave, suggesting that they might elect to not employ women altogether.

In response to the ECOP statement, the Gabriela Women’s Party argued that there are existing legislations and conventions in place that prevent gender-based discrimination in hiring. One example is the Magna Carta of Women, which ensures equal employment opportunities in one of its provisions.

Article 135 of the Labor Code is another law that protects against gender-based hiring. Despite good intentions, the law still presents some limitations, as Sanchez-Salcedo pointed. For instance, the article indeed prohibits employers from discriminating against female employees on the basis of sex; any violation thereof will penalize the employer with either a fine, imprisonment, or both—but employers are usually able to circumvent this.

She explained that there are no safeguards in the Labor Code for the non-hiring of women, as women are protected under the law only when they are already employed in the company. Women waiting on employers who are still contemplating on who to hire remain vulnerable to discrimination.

This emphasis on the role of women in domestic instead of economic responsibilities perpetuates a prejudice against the role of men in fulfilling the same duties. “The law singled out women of childbearing age and showered them with special treatment at the expense of the employer,” Salcedo-Sanchez argued. She added that providing fathers with only seven paid leaves upholds the mindset that they are the primary breadwinners of the family, whereas mothers have no choice but to fill in the role of the caregiver. In downplaying the role of fathers in child development, the EML failed to normalize how familial responsibilities extend to both men and women. As a result, mothers are kept from breaking the glass ceiling at work, and fathers are prevented from competently exercising paternal roles.

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