Replication Data for: The Origin of Social Policy for Women Workers: The Emergence of Paid Maternity Leave in Western Countries

Comparative welfare research commonly assumes that women’s political demands were not a crucial factor in the early development of welfare legislation, given their limited access to political resources. This article argues that women contributed to enhancing their right to maternity protection once paid maternity leave was adopted. The early development of paid maternity leave was not only an outcome but a cause of women’s influence in policymaking. Although paid maternity leave was invented by male policymakers in pioneer welfare states, the adoption of paid maternity leave generated political opportunities for women to push for further expansions. Utilizing an original historical dataset of paid maternity leave, I examine the adoption and extension of paid maternity leave in 20 western countries from 1883 until 1975. I find that women’s political participation shaped the generosity of paid maternity leave, but not the timing of its adoption.

比较福利研究领域通常预设，鉴于女性在政治资源获取层面存在局限，其政治诉求并未成为福利立法早期发展的关键影响因素。本文主张，在带薪产假制度确立之后，女性曾为提升自身的生育保护权益作出了重要贡献。带薪产假的早期发展，不仅是女性在政策制定中发挥影响力的结果，同时也是其影响力得以生成的动因。尽管带薪产假最初由首批福利国家的男性政策制定者所创设，但该制度的推行却为女性争取进一步拓展相关权益催生了政治契机。本文依托一套原创的带薪产假历史数据集，对1883年至1975年间20个西方国家的带薪产假制度的确立与拓展进程展开系统考察。研究发现，女性的政治参与程度塑造了带薪产假制度的福利保障力度，但并未对该制度的推出时机产生显著影响。