To Mother Alone, or To Parent Together?

मातृदेवो भव। पितृदेवो भव। "Revere the mother as divine. Revere the father as divine"; Taittiriya Upanishad

For centuries, Indian thought has placed motherhood and fatherhood on equal moral pedestals. The child, after all, is not the responsibility of one parent alone, but the shared creation of both. Yet, when this ancient ideal enters the modern workplace, the balance begins to falter. While labor laws have increasingly recognized the sacrifices and responsibilities of mothers through maternity benefits, fathers remain largely absent from the legal framework of caregiving.

The result is a contradiction: a society that venerates both parents, but a workplace that often assumes childcare is the duty of only one.

As India debates the future of work, gender equality, and family welfare, the question is no longer merely about maternity leave. It is about whether caregiving itself should be viewed as a shared parental responsibility.

India’s labor law framework historically consisted of more than 29 central labour laws regulating different dimensions of employment. In recent years, these laws were consolidated into four major labor codes:

Category	Labor Code
Salary & Wage Protection	Code on Wages, 2019
Safety & Working Conditions	Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020
Health & Future Security	Code on Social Security, 2020
Terms of Employment & Disputes	Industrial Relations Code, 2020

Within this new framework, maternity benefits are now governed under the Code on Social Security, 2020. Yet, the larger debate today is no longer confined to maternity alone. It concerns equality within families, workplace justice, care responsibilities, and the future of labor in a changing economy.

Maternity Benefit Provisions in India (Present Framework)

Under the current legal structure, maternity benefits seek to ensure both financial support and job security for pregnant women.

Key Provisions

Provision	Details
Purpose	Financial support and job protection during pregnancy
Applicability	Establishments employing 10 or more workers
Eligibility	Minimum 80 days of work in previous 12 months
Duration of Leave	26 weeks for first two children; 12 weeks thereafter
Salary During Leave	Full salary based on average wage
Medical Bonus	Provided if employer does not offer medical care
Protection from Dismissal	Employer cannot terminate employment during leave
Work from Home	Permitted where nature of work allows

History of Maternity Leave in India: A Timeline

The roots of maternity protection in India stretch back to the colonial period. What began as limited welfare legislation slowly evolved into a broader rights-based framework.

1929 — The Bombay Maternity Benefit Act, 1929

One of the earliest legislations providing maternity protection to women workers in India.

1961 — Maternity Benefit Act, 1961

The Indian Parliament enacted a nationwide law granting:

• 12 weeks of paid maternity leave

• Job protection for pregnant women

• Employer liability for maternity compensation

This marked the formal recognition of maternity protection as a statutory labor right.

2017 — Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017

A landmark reform that:

• Increased paid maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks

• Introduced maternity leave provisions for adoptive and commissioning mothers

• Allowed work-from-home arrangements where feasible

• Mandated crèche facilities in certain establishments

The amendment positioned India among countries with the longest paid maternity leave periods in the world.

2020 — Code on Social Security, 2020

The maternity provisions of the 1961 Act were incorporated into the new labour code framework.

2026 — Hamsaanandini Nanduri v. Union of India

One of the most significant recent developments came through the Supreme Court’s this judgment.

Previously, Section 60(4) of the Code on Social Security, 2020 earlier Section 5(4) of the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 restricted paid leave for adoptive mothers only if the adopted child was below three months of age.

The Supreme Court struck down this limitation.

Before and After the 2017 Amendment:-

The 2017 amendment was celebrated as progressive legislation, yet it also exposed structural contradictions in India’s labor ecosystem.

Aspect	Before 2017	After 2017
Paid Leave Duration	12 weeks	26 weeks
Adoptive Mothers	No clear recognition	Leave introduced
Surrogate/Commissioning Mothers	Not recognized	Recognized
Work from Home	Absent	Permitted in some cases
Crèche Facilities	Not mandatory	Mandatory in specified establishments

While the reform expanded benefits, it also generated important debates.

The Challenges Behind the Law

1. The Cost Burden on Employers

India’s maternity benefit system is primarily employer-funded. This means businesses bear the direct financial burden of paid leave.

This differs significantly from many countries:

Country	Who Pays?
India	Mostly employer
Sweden	Social insurance/state-supported
Norway	Public welfare system
Canada	Employment insurance system
UK	Shared reimbursement model

The consequence in India is complex. Smaller firms often perceive women employees as “costlier hires,” unintentionally discouraging female workforce participation.

This becomes particularly difficult in India where most establishments are small or medium-sized enterprises with limited financial capacity.

2. A System Focused Almost Entirely on Mothers

Indian labor law largely treats childcare as a woman’s responsibility.

The language itself reflects this:

• “Maternity leave”

• “Women-centric caregiving”

• Minimal recognition of fathers

Yet childcare is not solely maternal labor. It is parental labor.

Countries like Sweden have increasingly adopted the idea of parental leave rather than separate maternity or paternity leave systems.

Under the Swedish model:

• Leave is shared between parents

• A portion is non-transferable

• Fathers are effectively compelled to participate in caregiving

This changes not only workplace culture, but domestic culture as well.

In India, the debate on paternity leave remains underdeveloped despite growing recognition that unequal caregiving contributes directly to gender inequality in employment.

Should India Introduce Paternity Leave?

The question is no longer whether fathers can participate in caregiving, but whether institutions will allow them to.

Data from India’s Time Use Survey reveals that women spend nearly ten times more hours on unpaid domestic work including childcare and elder care than men.

This imbalance produces several long-term consequences:

• Reduced female labor-force participation

• Career interruptions for women

• Wage inequality

• Reinforcement of traditional gender roles

Paternity leave could:

• Normalize caregiving by fathers

• Reduce the motherhood penalty in workplaces

• Improve child development outcomes

• Create healthier work-family balance

However, implementation remains difficult in India’s economic context.

Only around 10% of India’s workforce operates within the formal sector. The remaining 90% work in informal employment where maternity laws often remain inaccessible in practice.

For millions of women:

• No written contracts exist

• No paid leave exists

• Pregnancy frequently results in complete labor-force exit

Thus, the challenge is not merely legal reform, but structural labor formalization.

Gig Workers and the Invisible Crisis

The rise of the gig economy introduces another unresolved question:

What happens when a gig worker becomes pregnant?

Suppose a woman works through a digital platform:

• food delivery,

• ride-sharing,

• freelance services,

• platform-based work.

Once pregnancy begins, she may simply stop working; not because she chooses to, but because no maternity protection exists for her.

Unlike formal employees:

• gig workers often lack social insurance,

• paid leave,

• health security,

• employment continuity.

As platform economies expand, maternity protection can no longer remain tied only to traditional employer-employee relationships.

The future of labor law will increasingly depend on whether caregiving protections extend to non-traditional workers.

The real question is not, “How long should mothers be allowed to stay home?” Rather, it is, “How should society collectively value care itself?” For care is not simply a private responsibility borne within the walls of a home; it is the invisible foundation upon which families, communities, and economies are built.

-A Blog by Jitisha .S. Hiremath