Analysis: Women Working On Contract Deserve Maternity Benefits Too | Read

In the last few years, courts across India have held in various judgments that maternity leave and its consequential benefits should be extended to contractual employees.

Data shows that while 45% of India's graduates are women, just about 10% of educated women in the country pursue long-term careers. Data from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) states that the employability gender gap in India is 50.9%, with only 19.2% of women in the labour force compared to 70.1% of men. A significant number of women, particularly in contractual jobs, leave the workforce, often never to rejoin, because they don't get maternity leave. Around 70-80% of caregiving responsibilities in India are shouldered by women, while the male participation rate in the workforce stands at 80%.