ABSTRACT
Women bear the weight of reproduction and child care and support social reproduction through care work, which often creates labour market entry barriers for them. In addition, lack of access to, ownership of and control over resources compromises women’s agency, autonomy and decision-making within families and across various institutions. Among several enabling equity policies, maternity benefits and support to care work is considered an important means not only in strengthening women’s participation in the labour force, but also in increasing their participation in education and skill formation, thus opening up avenues for empowerment. In this chapter an attempt is made to closely examine the stand alone SDG of gender equality (Goal 5) with reference to No poverty (Goal 1), Reduce Inequalities (Goal 10) and Good Health and Well-being (Goal 3). In particular, attempt is made to centre stage maternity protection within the SDG framework, particularly with reference to maternity benefits as a mechanism to fulfil women’s rights as workers and citizens. It exposes the relationship between fertility, education and employment as well as the effects of women’s work on child nutrition and well-being. The paper concludes, stating that the universal coverage of maternity benefit scheme would facilitate women’s entry into labour market with the multiplier effect of economic growth and women’s empowerment; enhance women’s autonomy, financial independence and decision making power which can have a positive impact on the children’s nutrition and their health; and shift the burden of care work outside family, which would help women to cut short inter-generational cycles of poverty and gender-based discrimination.
