Determining factors in the career continuance of female workers with maternity leave

While there is a plethora of studies on the career disruption of women related to childbirth and childrearing, little research has been dedicated to the examination of female workers who were able to resume a career as a result of a maternity protection system in Korea. This paper investigates how women’s employment is protected through maternity protection system using panel data which was compiled from female workers enrolled in the Employment Insurance database who took childbirth leave in 2009 and 2010. This panel contains information regarding the female workers’ use of the maternity protection system and changes in their employment status over the period between January 2009 and May 2012.