Toronto, Ontario, Canada (AHN) – A report released Tuesday by TD Bank linksmaternity leave taken by women to lower wages.

According to study authors Beata Caranci and Pascal Gauthier, for every year that a women leaves the workforce to give birth and take care of her children, the female employee loses three percent of her salary.

Although three percent is the average loss, It could increase significantl for women who take maternity leaves more frequently.

The study debunks long-held belief that skills of female workers depreciate with extended maternity leaves. Rather, employers view a woman employee’s frequent entry and exit from the workforce as an indicator of her attachment or commitment to her job.

Caranci, deputy chief economist of TD Economics, pointed out that previous studies on wage differences between the genders could not attribute about half of an observed 20 percent difference in pay to the usual factors such as experience, hours worked, occupation, industry and age.

After going on a maternity leave, when these working mothers return to work, because of more responsibilities waiting for them at home, they are less attracted to job incentives normally offered such as higher salaries in exchange for added or higher responsibilities in the office. Instead, they often select more work-life balance.

To reduce the pay gap, the report suggested that women first build more work experience before they go on maternity leave and, if possible, return to the same employer where their social networks and other company-specific skills are better preserved.

Gauthier, senior economist of TD Economics, said in a statement, “This new insight provides a vantage point for employers on how to reengineer jobs and provide the flexibility this demographic demands, while helping to put employees and companies ahead of the expected skilled labor force crunch.”

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