The Crisis Pregnancy Agency believes workplace policy influences women's decisions when faced with crisis pregnancies, writes Theresa Judge
A lack of subsidised childcare and a reluctance among employers to allow flexible working arrangements have been criticised by the Crisis Pregnancy Agency as contributing to some women opting to have abortions.
New research conducted for the agency has found that workplace policy and culture influence the decisions women make when they are faced with a crisis pregnancy.
Director of the Crisis Pregnancy Agency Caroline Spillane says employers cannot put "their heads in the sand" and say that crisis pregnancy is not an issue for them. Younger women, in particular, feel it is impossible to balance work and children, she says.
Another survey of 88 Irish women attending abortion clinics in Britain found the main reason given for choosing abortion was "career and job- related concerns".
The agency points out issues of concern to women facing crisis pregnancy are relevant to all working parents. Changing the "average conditions of Irish women's lives would be likely to lead to a change in their perceptions of whether a pregnancy was a crisis or not", Spillane says.
"Employers cannot avoid the issue - if employees don't feel the workplace is going to be supportive then there will be problems, either with people deciding not to stay or there will be morale or absenteeism issues," she says.
Because of research findings indicating that workplace culture and policy are factors in women's decision-making in crisis pregnancy situations, the agency last week hosted a seminar for employers and policymakers on the issue.
It was pointed out that one in five women between the ages of 25 and 34 has experienced a crisis pregnancy and that 81 per cent of these women are in the workforce.
Women's concerns about the impact of having a baby on their work prospects and career are supported by a range of research findings, Spillane says. These include reports from the Equality Authority showing that pregnant women are still encountering discrimination in the workplace.
In 2006, the Equality Authority received some 3,700 inquiries in relation to maternity protection legislation. Spillane stresses that the changes that need to be made would benefit all working parents and are in line with progressive policies on promoting diversity, equality and work-life balance.
"There is also a strong business argument to be made because it is in employers' interest to have a diverse workforce that reflects the diversity in the general population and is more in tune with society."
She says it does not make sense for employers to invest money in women employees for 10 years, only to lose them when they start having children.
Most third-level graduates are now women and are therefore valuable employees, she says.
Fertility patterns show that women are leaving it later to have children and are having fewer children. "If we want women to have children and we want them to work at the same time, then we have got to support that - we need a dialogue on how we can facilitate parents more," she says.
It is generally accepted that many employers do try to facilitate flexible working arrangements but it is lone parents and those in low-paid jobs who face the greatest pressures and are least facilitated. Most public sector workers enjoy a range of family-friendly options not generally available in smaller or non-unionised workplaces.
The cost of childcare in Ireland is accepted as a major issue in deterring young women from having children. Spillane points out that average childcare costs in Ireland are 30 per cent of disposable income while the EU average is just 8 per cent.
The need for flexible working hours is also stressed both for parents of young children and for all those with caring responsibilities. "We need to get away from the notion that sitting at a desk for long hours equals productivity because it doesn't," says Spillane.
Other measures which the Crisis Pregnancy Agency is encouraging employers to consider is the provision of workplace creches and subsidies to help with the cost of childcare.
The agency is also arguing for extending maternity leave, paid paternity leave and incentives for both fathers and mothers to take parental leave.
The agency says it is realistic about the needs of employers but "workers who are facilitated are going to be more productive".
Spillane says that research the agency conducted had found that "leadership from the top was very important, providing a direct indication that they will be supportive and flexible".
Róisín Callender of Siptu points out that the last three national agreements include commitments relating to work- life balance but says the pace of change is "painfully slow".
She says the main problem in relation to childcare is that the Government is "not facing up to the real cost of providing the social infrastructure that is needed and that has been provided in other countries".
She says there is a very wide variation in employers' willingness to facilitate employees with flexible hours or part-time working.
Siptu is arguing for a statutory right to such arrangements. Many women who opt to work part time while their children are young are also denied promotion opportunities as a result as they cannot apply for more senior jobs where part-time working would not be allowed, she says.
Callender points out that Ireland lags way behind most EU countries in terms of family-friendly provisions. Because we have only unpaid parental leave, it is generally only availed of by women who have high-earning husbands.
Siptu has been arguing for some time for paid parental leave and for men to have a statutory right to paternity leave - Ireland is one of the few EU states that does not give men a statutory right to leave when their children are born.
Callender says that recent changes to funding for community childcare facilities was "highly problematic". While staffing grants were provided in the past, now that EU funds are no longer available the Government is only going to subsidise the care of children whose family is entitled to family income supplement.
She says the problem is that only those on very low incomes are eligible for family income supplement and many low-paid workers will not be eligible for any subsidies and will have to pay the full cost of childcare.
She says the union will have to step up its campaign for a childcare subsidy or tax relief targeted at low to middle income parents.
On the issue of maternity pay, she says most women take a substantial pay cut because the State benefit is 80 per cent of reckonable earnings which, in practice, can mean only about a third of their full pay.
"Only those on very, very low pay get 80 per cent of their full pay," she says. Only a minority of employers top up the State payment to ensure the woman does not suffer a large drop in income.
The Labour Party's equality spokeswoman, Kathleen Lynch, says one reason for the slow pace of change on issues related to family-friendly work practices is that measures promised in one national agreement are often not implemented until just before the next one is negotiated. She says that unless measures such as flexible working arrangements are tied down in legislation, they will not happen.
Employers' body Ibec was unable to provide a spokesperson but it pointed to data showing that an increasing number of employers were facilitating flexible working arrangements.