Many women working in the Republic’s multibillion euro aircraft leasing industry feel under pressure not to take their full maternity leave entitlements, a new report shows.
Under Irish law, women can take six months’ paid maternity leave with the option of an additional 16 weeks after that period, while many organisations extend these benefits.
However, women working in aircraft leasing, a business that controls about $100 billion (€86 billion) of assets, feel obliged not to take their full entitlement, says a report from specialist recruitment agency Coopman, and Propelher which is a group that promotes women’s participation in the industry.
It shows that 46 per cent did not feel comfortable taking their full entitlement, while 59 per cent of staff took between six and 12 months.
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In some cases, companies did not have clear policies, resulting in workers themselves having to pressurise employers to secure basic statutory rights.
One woman told the survey that she had to “fight for two years to even get a policy”, which ended up being the statutory minimum.
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Only one-third of workers surveyed said their employers had very clear maternity leave policies, although 75 per cent of human resources professionals argued that they were easy to access.
Women cite expectations at work and relationships with clients among the reasons for returning to work early after they have children.
One respondent said that she feared losing clients if she remained on maternity leave for too long.
Coopman, a firm that serves the industry from offices in Dublin, New York and London, said that the problem is most pronounced among smaller leasing firms.
Larger companies are likely to have established maternity and parental leave policies, it adds.
The report, Ground Truth: Navigating Parental Leave in Aircraft Leasing, highlights significant differences across the industry, the firm notes.
Commenting on its findings, Coopman managing director Mark Fallon said the data show that where organisations provide clarity, support and a structured return to work, people remained and progressed in the organisation.
“Those are practical changes and they’re well within reach for the industry,” he added.
The research found that some companies cut bonuses for those on maternity leave.
Participants also reported insufficient support after returning to work, even finding that their desks had been reassigned while on leave.
Men working in the industry were unwilling to take their full entitlement to two weeks’ parental leave, citing the same reasons as women colleagues.
Some went as far as using annual leave instead of the parental option, or took less than two weeks, the report notes.
One said that he wanted to take more than two weeks, but felt this would damage his reputation as others were not taking this.
