Women employees on maternity leave would be evaluated based on their preceding year's performance from now onwards, a move that would go some way towards eliminating the discrimination they face.

“Whichever metric is the best should be used,” it said.

The central bank notice comes after it found that some banks do not evaluate performance of women employees during maternity leave.

Since 2011, the country's working women have been six months of paid maternity leave, up from four months previously.