Groundbreaking Research Reveals 22% Drop in Interview Likelihood for Women at Struggling Companies After National Mandate for Extended Paid Leave
New INFORMS Management Science Study Key Finding:
- The unintended consequences of employer-paid maternity leave policies suggest that without additional safeguards, such policies may harm women’s job prospects instead of enhancing them.
BALTIMORE, MD, May 22, 2025 – Well-intentioned employer-paid maternity leave policies may be the catalyst for the unintended consequence of costing women jobs in the technology workforce instead of boosting their participation, according to a groundbreaking study in the INFORMS journal Management Science.
These counterintuitive findings – resulting from a study of more than 4 million IT job applications across 7,000+ companies – raises urgent questions about how workplace policies are designed and implemented, especially in high-skill sectors like tech where gender equity already lags. The study, “Does Employer-Paid, Job-Protected Maternity Leave Help or Hurt Female IT Workers? Evidence from Millions of Job Applications,” analyzes the impact of a 2017 Indian law that expanded paid maternity leave from 12 to 26 weeks for companies with 10 or more employees.
“Less profitable companies are 22% less likely to interview female applicants after the implementation of extended paid leave mandates, raising a bevy of significant concerns for employers and policymakers,” says Sofia Bapna of the University of Minnesota.
The release of this study comes amid heightened debate over paid family leave policies worldwide. In the U.S., conversations continue about expanding paid leave. New York recently implemented the nation’s first paid prenatal leave law on Jan. 1, 2025, providing 20 hours of paid leave annually for prenatal medical appointments.
The U.S. maintains strong legal protections against gender-based hiring discrimination, but this study underscores a critical reality: policies don’t operate in a vacuum. Economic incentives – and disincentives – still shape employer behavior. As more states and companies expand paid family leave, this research signals a need for thoughtful policy design that includes cost-sharing mechanisms, gender-neutral benefits and anti-bias safeguards. Without these, even well-intentioned reforms risk reinforcing the very inequities they aim to correct.
“While the intent of the law was to support women’s participation in the workforce, our findings reveal a critical backfire,” continued Bapna, a professor in the Information and Decision Sciences Department in the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. “Companies that can’t absorb the cost of extended maternity leave are effectively closing the door on women before they even have a chance to prove themselves.”
“As policymakers push for expanded leave programs, this research serves as a crucial warning: even well-meaning policies can cause harm if not carefully designed,” says Russell Funk of the University of Minnesota. “Without complementary measure – such as antidiscrimination laws, shared parental leave and employer incentives – efforts to empower women could end up shutting them out instead.”
The authors recommend that employer-paid leave policies be accompanied by safeguards that protect women from discriminatory hiring practices.
“Creating balanced policies that benefit both employers and employees is essential for achieving true equity in the workplace,” concludes Funk, a professor in the Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship Department in the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.
About INFORMS and Management Science
INFORMS is the world’s largest association for professionals and students in operations research, AI, analytics, data science and related disciplines, serving as a global authority in advancing cutting-edge practices and fostering an interdisciplinary community of innovation. Management Science, a leading journal published by INFORMS, publishes quantitative research on management practices across organizations. INFORMS empowers its community to improve organizational performance and drive data-driven decision-making through its journals, conferences and resources. Learn more at www.informs.org or @informs.
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