Examining the effects of changes in paid maternity leave policy in Canada, with particular attention to Quebec and Ontario

This research project examines the effects of changes in the maternity leave legislation on the wages of women with children in Canada, specifically Quebec and Ontario, using the data from the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics 1999 – 2003. I estimate regression equations on women’s wages using OLS, Heckman two step models and difference–in–differences estimation strategy. The results from all these of three methods confirm many of the previous studies’ findings, which suggest that maternity leave contributes to the existence of the wage gap associated between women with children and women without children. My analysis shows that a longer maternity leave coverage can help in narrowing this gap.