Maternity Leave: Where We Stand Compared to Europe

The article discusses in detail policies of maternity leave in several European countries. The prime focus is on the length and conditions of maternity leave and the amount of compensation paid through the maternity benefit. The outcome is a scale of all the countries based on a variable that combines the effects of both the amount of a monthly compensation in relation to the average income and the amount of maternity benefit paid during the whole course of maternity leave.