Research from University of Sydney yields new data on life sciences.

According to recent research from Sydney, Australia, "In this article we explore how the reluctance to introduce a national paid maternity leave scheme in Australia reflects gendered norms and constructions of parenthood and work."

"We report on the findings of a study of selected media texts that show how the public discourse that surrounded proposals to introduce such a scheme exhibited deep-seated resistance to women who combine motherhood with continued attachment to the paid workforce. Using a multi-modal approach to discourse analysis, we show how gender and maternity are constructed using cultural and historical discursive resources that reinforce a conservative national identity," wrote S. Ainsworth and colleagues, University of Sydney (see also Life Sciences).

The researchers concluded: "By focusing on what is both absent and present in the media texts we show how 'actual fathers' are rendered invisible ...