Fewer put marriage before the carriage
Stephen Lunn; 29/9/08
The traditional link between marriage and having children may be beginning to unravel, with far more young women having babies outside marriage than even a decade ago. New research shows that 30per cent of women aged 29-34 now have had a child by age 25, the same as for women aged 34-38. Yet 42 per cent of 34- to 38-year-old women were married at 25, compared with just 29 per cent of 29- to 34-year-olds. Such a marked decline in the young mothers’ marriage rate in just a few years surprised one of Australia’s leading demographers, Peter McDonald, who will present his findings to the conference, A Decade of the Life Course, in Canberra today.
See: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24416560-5013404,00.html
Labor’s hedge on leave for mothers
Natasha Bita; 29/9/08
Paid leave leave for new parents will be recommended by the Productivity Commission today, but the federal Government is already hosing down hopes that it will fork out $500 million in funding next year. Families and Community Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin said yesterday that she was a “great advocate” of paid parental leave. “It’s so critical for mothers to have time to recover after the birth, for parents … to have time to bond with their newborn babies,” she told the Ten Network yesterday
See: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24416565-5013871,00.html
Tags: Australia, Children, Marriage, Maternity Leave, Workers