NEW DELHI: Noting that “motherhood should not become a career penalty”, National Commission for Women (NCW) has called for measures to prevent recruitment discrimination against women arising from maternity, as part of a slew of recommendations to govt on laws related to maternity and childcare.In a report — containing 37 recommendations — NCW has also called for a shift to shared caregiving by transforming existing women-centric child care legal framework into gender-neutral child care leave, available to either parent. The commission batted for extension of “gender neutral” child care leave to private sector, mandatory paid paternity leave, expanding childcare leave eligibility to include third child through graded model, and highlighted the urgent need to make room for 5 lakh creches by 2030.It called for maternity protection to reach women beyond the formal workforce, and recommended extending maternity and childcare benefits to informal, gig and platform workers, noting that over 90% of women workers remain outside effective coverage.NCW has submitted its recommendations to the department of personnel and training (DoPT) and women and child development and labour and employment ministries, with a focus on strengthening India’s maternity and childcare framework through shared parenting, universal maternity protection and family-friendly workplaces.It further recommended parity in maternity benefits for biological, adoptive and commissioning mothers, including increasing leave for adoptive and commissioning mothers from 12 weeks to 26 weeks. It also called for amending Section 60(4) of Social Security Code, 2020, in light of the Supreme Court ruling concerning adoptive mothers, while advocating for a child-centric caregiving framework rather than distinctions based solely on biological motherhood.
Share your thoughts in the comments
Be respectful · TOI community guidelines
NCW proposed dividing the existing 730-day child care leave structure equally between both working parents, with 365 days each, or allowing a common pool where both parents work in the same organisation. For children aged 0–2 years, it further proposes a 60:40 shared-care model between primary and secondary caregivers.The commission has also proposed extending child care leave to private-sector employees through a phased implementation model, beginning with large industries and subsequently covering medium and small enterprises.