Women face criticism whether they take maternity leave or not

May 31 (UPI) -- Researchers at the University of Exeter found that when it comes to maternity leave, women are judged negatively whether they take time off or not.

The study analyzed attitudes of 137 working women and 157 working men from the United States and Britain. The participants were asked questions about a fictional woman with the only difference being whether she had chosen to take maternity leave or not.

In one scenario, the fictional woman had taken maternity leave, in the second scenario she had not and the third scenario was the control group where the issue of maternity leave was not mentioned.

Participants were asked to evaluate the fictional woman as an employee and as a parent. The study revealed negative family results for the woman if she kept working and negative working results for the woman if she took maternity leave.

"This is a no-win situation for women," Dr. Thekla Morgenroth, of the University of Exeter, said in a press release. "Our results show that perceptions of competence, whether in the work or family domain, were never boosted -- but only impaired -- by the maternity leave decision. Both decisions had negative consequences, albeit in different domains. It is important to have policies which allow women to balance work and family life, but it's also important to understand people's use of these policies may have unintended consequences."

The study was published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.