Crushed between two stones: Competing institutional logics in the implementation of maternity leave policies in Pakistan

Ayesha Masood and Muhammad Azfar Nisar

Gender, Work and Organization, 2020, vol. 27, issue 6, 1103-1126

Abstract: Maternity leave forms the mainstay of work–life policies aimed towards creating an inclusive and diverse workplace. While extensive research has examined the impact of maternity leave on women's participation, progress and retention in the labour force, the institutional micro‐social foundations of implementation and interpretation of these policies remain underexplored. Based on an ethnographic study of Pakistani women doctors, this study explores the intersection of different logics prevailing in various institutions — family, state and profession — involved in implementing maternity policies. Our findings illustrate that cultural configurations of motherhood, norms of the medical profession and the administrative burden of applying for leave, shaped by the trans‐institutional logic of patriarchy, limit the effectiveness and utilization of maternity policies. Our research, therefore, supports context‐specific reconceptualization and redesign of maternity leave policies. Based on our findings, we offer suggestions to account for heterogeneity of women workers based on their employment status (regular/contractual) and employing organizations (public/private) in the design of maternity leave policies to improve their implementation.

Date: 2020
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