Lone Motherhood
Parental Leave PoliciesLone mothers also do not enjoy many of the social benefits granted to two-parent families. Austrian parental leave policies have been recently modified to allow 18 months for mothers or fathers and an additional 6 months for the other spouse, if desired. However, this additional 6 months is not offered to lone mothers, leaving them at a greater disadvantage again to two-parent families.
Additionally, until 1995, parental leave policies allowed a 50% higher childcare benefit payment to lone mothers or fathers. However, in the past ten years policies have changed to only allow lone mothers to apply for a smaller grant that is later taken from the absent parent’s salary. If a lone mother does not want to divulge this information or does not know who the parent of the child is, they are not allowed to claim this payment. This naming of the absent parent only further reinforces the dependency of the female on the male in Austrian family life and policy.
