Description
Many universities (and their medical/health schools) provide maternity leave for their employees, though the features vary widely. In Canada, Dalhousie University, McMaster University, and the University of Ottawa all compensate eligible employees at 95%-100% of salary and offer some level of insurance benefits for at least part of the leave. Dalhousie University and the University of Ottawa offer additional leave beyond the 17-week minimum required by Canadian law, sometimes depending on length of service, and University of Ottawa employees can apply for an unpaid leave of absence of up to two years. In the US, the University of California allows all academic employees to take at least six weeks of maternity leave (either continuous or intermittent), regardless of length of service; however, pay levels during maternity leave vary according to the employee’s position and length of service. In South Africa, female staff members of the University of the Western Cape can receive five months of paid maternity leave.
Maternity leave varies even within an institution. In the US, Harvard University entitles general staff members (whether male or female) to up to four weeks of paid parental leave and extended parental leave of up to one year without pay, while postdoctoral fellows in the medical and dental schools can take 13 weeks of maternity leave and a combination of short-term disability, parental leave, and vacation leave.
Dalhousie University and the University of California have some provisions for students as well. Medical residents at Dalhousie who have been employed for at least one year are entitled to up to 17 weeks of maternity leave with unemployment benefits that would pay 75% of salary during the first two weeks and 93% of salary thereafter for up to 15 weeks. Residents may also take five weeks of parental leave immediately following maternity leave. In fact, medical residents in Canada are covered under agreements between professional residents’ associations in each province and the provincial governments.
Other graduate students at Dalhousie may take pregnancy/parental leave for up to three academic terms over the course of one year. Students do not owe fees to the university and in most cases do not receive financial support from scholarships during this period. Registered graduate students at the University of California, San Francisco do continue to receive financial support for up to six weeks during maternity leave. When graduate students are funded by a source that does not provide funding during maternity leave, the graduate program is responsible for providing paid leave.
Implementation lessons learned
Pregnancy/maternity leave is a well-known strategy to help working mothers integrate their personal and professional lives. Though the structure of this leave varies by institution, incorporating pregnancy/maternity leave into legal structures is helpful to ensure a minimum level of support.
Examples
Dalhousie University’s maternity leave for postgraduate residents
University of California’s family accommodations for childbearing and childrearing
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