Abstract (Translated):
This article analyzes the effects of voluntary changes in maternity leave - through the Programa Empresa Cidadã (PEC) - from 120 days to 180 days on hiring and wages of female workers in companies that adhered to the program. For this purpose, we used the propensity score matching method combined with differences in differences. The results revealed that the extension of maternity leave had a positive and significant impact on the hiring of female workers, and no impact on hiring wages. As a way to test the credibility of our empirical strategy, null impacts were estimated for years before the start of the program, as well as for men after the start of the program. The results were interpreted through the lens of a framework of imperfect competition in the labor market, which suggests that the estimated impacts reflect an increase in the female labor supply for companies that increased the duration of maternity leave.