In what is being termed as a historical moment, the Rajya Sabha has passed the impending Maternity Benefits Bill, which now awaits the final nod from the President.

In what is being termed as a historical moment, the Rajya Sabha has passed the impending Maternity Benefits Bill, which now awaits the final nod from the President. The bill will entitle working women in all establishments — public and private — 26 weeks of maternity leave.  Once the bill becomes a law, all establishments with 50 or more employees will also have to provide creches. What do celebrities and experts across disciplines think about the Bill and do they think there could be scope for improvement? We find out:

‘I’m not clear how facilities like day-care and food will be provided’
Meera Vasudevan, actress
Certainly, the maternity leave bill seems to be a huge relief for working women across different fields. However, I’m not clear how facilities like day-care and food will be provided, since this could shoot the overall budget of a company up. Secondly, I want to understand how safe will children be when women are working. Somehow, I think there are a lot of risks involved. Will my child be at risk from strangers? Unless I know that my safety is guaranteed, I will not even dream of exposing my kid to my work atmosphere.

‘I’m glad we’re moving towards making it easier for working women’
Juhi Chawla, actress
It’s a progressive move and I’m glad that we are moving towards making it easier for working women to manage a family and their careers. This bill has made quite a stir, since many international countries are yet to establish such laws when it comes to maternity leaves for women.

‘I have deep concerns about this bill adding women to the workforce at all’
Dr. Saundarya Rajesh, social entrepreneur, founder-president of AVTAR Group
The bill has been put together in the best of interests for Indian women. However, I have deep concerns about this bill adding women to the workforce at all. The reason I say this is because, if we analyse the workforce participation of women, only 16 per cent of all employed women are in the white-collar jobs in India. Of these 16 per cent, only a 35 to 40 per cent of those women are in the large corporates — for whom this 26-week maternity leave is not going to be very difficult. The remaining employed women are in small and medium enterprises in metros, sub-metros and other parts of the country, which cannot afford this 26-week paid maternity leave. Such entreprises might decide not to give women any jobs. An organisation could say that it cuts into their cash flow, to have an unproductive asset for six months, so they would rather not hire women. I firmly believe that the maternity leave, which has been created with the best of intentions, will not have its full effect unless the government promotes the employment of women in the Indian workforce.

‘Women are only going to feel more valued by their organisations’
Neetu gupta, designer
Since the infant stages of children are very crucial, I think this much time is definitely required for a mother to bond with her child. The passing of the bill for an increase in maternity leave is only going to do us good, because many women cannot afford home care, as it has only become more expensive with time. And if it all works out, women are only going to feel more valued by their organisations, which in turn will make them more loyal, as all of us spend most of our time at workplaces today. There is definitely scope for more improvement, but this is a good start.

‘Motherhood and a successful career are no longer mutually exclusive’
Ambika Nijjar, advocate
Many more women are joining the workforce in India. The 26 weeks of maternity leave is an extremely positive move and all working women are grateful to the parliamentarians for passing it. It has given working women a chance to maintain their jobs and also get the opportunity to spend quality time with their infants when they need a mother most. Motherhood and a successful career are no longer mutually exclusive. The bill gives working women who also want to be mothers a much needed boost. I think there is scope for improvement though. Maybe paternity benefits could be next?