there's no 'paper' way to make certain people stop abusing rules. no matter how good the law is, there will always be individuals trying to take advantage and some of them will get away with it. I fail to see how creating law regulating this 'grey area' of maternity and salary issues actually makes case worse for women? if a team has a history of abuse, it's partially due to the fact there was no strict rules on this matter. same with minimum wage. so what teams used to do, although wrong, wasn't illegal. however if they continue on this path, it's gonna be plain and simple illegal, and that's pretty discouraging I'd say.
there's probably no better way to fight discrimination and abuse than through education. setting up a 'code' for teams (which are owned and ran by men) is also kinda this - showing guidelines on what you can and can't do. as funny as it might sound in 2018, many bosses (and I'm talking in general here) would benefit from that kind of primary school level tutoring regarding women. yes they do need protection, because they're notoriously abused and have hard time proving it to male judges/officers etc. yes they need to be treated equally as men, because we're not superior in any way or form, despite what some of us think of themselves. yes they are women after all, just like our moms, and they have to give birth. and no, just because of that we can't expect them to, or make them chose between job and career, because - yup - we're equal and free to make out own decisions.
as for teams, and potential costs: give me a break - one year paid leave will cost them what? an equivalent of one bike? perhaps two?
sh*t, that's gonna ruin them! remind me, how long was Cav out due to his 'flamboyant' bike stunts? how big portion of their budget was DiData paying him despite having no use of his 'skills'?