I costi aziendali per la gestione della maternità: realtà, percezioni e leve di intervento

Maternity leave is formally defined as time away from wage work to recover form childbirth/adoption (Hyde et al., 1995). However, beyond being conceived as a temporary absence from work for health reasons, maternity leave has been defined as something that upsets the normal linear notions of work ad career and that interrupts human capital attainment (Buzzanell and Goldzwig, 1991). Indeed, from women’s perspectives, work and career discontinuities can mean worries about job, wage, and advancement potential (Shellenbarger, 2003). From the employer’s standpoint, work discontinuities may raise concerns about talent loss, lower commitment, project completions (Schwartz, 1989). With more than 76% of Italian top managers declaring that maternity leave constitute an handicap for women career (Camera di Commercio, 2003), with the declining workforce participation rate of new mothers (Word Economic Forum report, 2006), the management of maternity leaves appear as an urgent issue