46% of start-ups prefer to hire male employees post Maternity Benefit Act, says survey by LocalCircles

The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017 was touted as a bold move by the government. It increased the duration of paid maternity leave in India from 12 weeks to 26 weeks. But it also increased the compliance burden on small and medium enterprises.

After the Act was passed, 11% businesses said they hired male employees only while 46% said they hired mostly male and a few female employees, according to a poll by LocalCircles. 43% said they hired both males and females in equal proportion. The poll received 2,987 votes from startups and SMEs across India

India has one of the world's most generous maternity leave policy and is probably the only country where its entire financial burden is supposed to be borne by the employer.