Women returning to work after a child more likely to face discrimination than they were ten years ago, says Equality and Human Rights Commission report

Women returning from maternity leave are more likely to face discrimination in the workplace than they were a decade ago, according to a report published today by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

The study by the EHRC estimates that around 54,000 new mothers are losing their jobs across Britain every year – almost twice the number identified in similar research undertaken in 2005.

It also found that 10% of women were discouraged from attending antenatal appointments by their employers, putting the health of mother and baby at risk.

Caroline Waters, deputy chair of the EHRC, said the report, Pregnancy and Maternity-Related Discrimination and Disadvantage, highlighted “worrying levels of discrimination and disadvantage at work that women still face”.

A survey of more than 3,200 women carried out by the authors of the report – produced in conjunction with the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills – found that one in nine had been dismissed, made compulsorily redundant or treated so poorly they had to quit their job. Scaled up to the general population this could mean as many as 54,000 mothers lose their jobs every year.



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The report also reveals that:



10% of women said they were treated worse by their employer after returning to work after having a baby

one in five new mothers – as many as 100,000 mothers a year – experienced harassment or negative comments from colleagues, employer or manager when pregnant or returning from maternity leave

7% said they were put under pressure to hand in their notice



One in 20 reported receiving a cut in pay or bonus after returning to their job.



Even when mothers were given the chance to work flexibly on their return to work, around half said it cut their work opportunities and they felt their opinion was less valued.

Justine Roberts, chief executive of parenting website Mumsnet, said women faced discrimination while pregnant and after giving birth on a regular basis. In Mumsnet’s own research, two thirds of the site’s users felt less employable after having a child and three quarters said it was harder to progress in their careers.

“Despite legislation designed to protect women from discrimination in the workplace, it’s clear that in many cases, companies are simply not following the rules,” said Roberts. “It’s shortsighted for employers to lose talented women who have built up skills and experience just because of unwillingness to support them on maternity leave and on return to work.”

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Most managers surveyed by the report said they were firm supporters of female staff during and after their pregnancies, with two thirds stating they did not think pregnancy puts an unreasonable cost burden on the workplace. Four out of five believed pregnant women and new mothers were just as committed to their work as colleagues.

Rosalind Bragg, director of Maternity Action, said that David Cameron – despite promising to make Britain the most family-friendly country in Europe – had instead overseen a significant deterioration in the situation of mothers in the workplace.



“This research paints a shocking picture of the experiences of pregnant women and new mothers in the workplace,” she said. “It is unacceptable that 54,000 women each year are dismissed or bullied out of their jobs purely because they became pregnant. Action to protect women’s rights to work during their childbearing years is long overdue. The government needs to move beyond family-friendly rhetoric to delivering practical solutions to this widespread and growing problem.”

Bragg called for specialist advice and support for women to pursue unfair and unlawful treatment by their employers and the scrapping of employment tribunal fees which she said “denied access to justice to the vast majority of women”.

The study results were “very disturbing”, said Cathy Warwick, chief executive of the Royal College of Midwives. “Evidence shows that missing antenatal appointments can increase the risk of smaller babies, premature babies, miscarriages and stillbirth,” she added.

Belinda Phipps, chair of the Fawcett Society, said it was “deeply troubling” that twice as many women could be losing their jobs than a decade ago. Discrimination, she added, was “resulting in a huge loss of skills and talent from the UK workforce”.