cite: Davies2022
author: Davies, J. M., Brighton, L. J., Reedy, F., & Bajwah, S.
year: 2022
title: "Maternity provision, contract status, and likelihood of returning to work: Evidence from research intensive universities in the UK"
publisher: Gender Work And Organization
uri: https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12843
pubtype: article
discipline: organization

country: United Kingdom
period: 2013-2018
maxlength:
targeting: implicit
group: high-skill female workers
data: FOI data of Russell Group universities

design: observational
method: cross-sectional; pooled odds ratios
sample: 17
unit: employer
representativeness: local
causal: 0 # 0 correlation / 1 causal

theory: scarce high-level academic female representation through 'leaky pipeline'
limitations: fragmented data restricting observable variables; doest not account for atypical/short-term contracts
observation:
  - intervention: paid leave (childcare)
    institutional: 1
    structural: 1
    agency: 0
    inequality: gender
    type: 1 # 0 vertical / 1 horizontal
    indicator: 1 # 0 absolute / 1 relative
    measures: employment (rtw ratios)
    findings: significantly decreased employment probability for rtw on fixed-term contracts compared to open-ended contracts; most universities provided limited access to maternity payment for fixed-contract staff
    channels: fewer included provisions in fixed-term contracts; strict policies on payments if contract ends before end of maternity leave/minimum length of rtw; long-term continuous service requirements for extended payments
    direction: -1 # -1 neg / 0 none / 1 pos
    significance: 2 # 0 nsg / 1 msg / 2 sg

notes: study on public university employers only
annotation: |
  A study on the return to work ratios for high-skill women workers in public academic universities in the United Kingdom, comparing the results for those in fixed-term contract work versus those in open-ended contracts.
  It finds that there is a significantly decreased return to work probability for those working under fixed-term contracts, and most universities providing policies with more limited access to maternity payment for fixed-contract staff.
  This is possibly due to provisions in the policies implicitly working against utilization under fixed-terms:
  there are strict policies on payments if a contract ends before the maternity leave period is over, and obligations on repayments if not staying in the position long enough after rtw.
  Additionally, most policies require long-term continuous service before qualifying for enhanced payments in the maternity policies.
  There is high internal heterogeneity between the univserities, primarily due to the diverging maternity policy documents, only a small number of the overall dataset providing favorable conditions for fixed-term work within.