Vodafone today said it will offer 16 weeks fully paid maternity leave to women employees and full pay for a 30-hour week for the first six months after their return to work.

The introduction of the mandatory minimum global maternity policy will be effective by the end of 2015. Women account for 35 percent of Vodafone Group employees worldwide but only 21 percent of its international senior leadership team. The strategy of the new maternal leave policy is to attract more talent.

The development will be available to women working at all levels across Vodafone’s 30 operating companies in Africa, the Middle East, the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, Latin America, and the US.

Other than the United Nations, very few global organizations have adopted minimum maternity policies of this kind.

The company will continue its other maternity care benefits as before.

KPMG on maternity benefits

Meanwhile, a KPMG study said global businesses could save up to an estimated $19 billion annually through the provision of 16 weeks of fully paid maternity leave.

KPMG estimated that recruiting and training new employees to replace women who do not stay in the workforce after having a baby costs global businesses $47 billion every year.

Offering women 16 weeks of fully paid maternity leave rather than the statutory minimum would cost businesses an additional $28 billion a year.

If businesses were able to retain more women in the workforce after their maternity leave, they could save up to $19 billion a year and would retain the knowledge and experience of these women with positive consequences for productivity and effectiveness.

“Our new mandatory minimum global maternity policy will support over 1,000 Vodafone women employees every year in countries with little or no statutory maternity care,” said Vodafone Group Chief Executive Vittorio Colao.

GSMA on women in telecom

Meanwhile, a GSMA study developed by AT Kearney said female participation in the telecom workforce varies widely, ranging from 10 percent to 52 percent.

In three-quarters of telecom companies surveyed, women accounted for less than 40 percent of the workforce; and there are notable regional differences among sampled companies, with those in the Americas outperforming their counterparts elsewhere in terms of female representation, said GSMA recently.

Among those surveyed in all regions except North America, less than 20 percent of senior leadership positions are held by women. In most regions excluding North America, the proportion of women at senior level is generally half of those at entry level. For the African companies in the study, less than one in 10 of their senior leaders are women.

Baburajan K
[email protected]