Pregnancy discrimination worsens

Results from The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) report into pregnancy discrimination and disadvantage in the workplace have revealed a worrying picture. 3,034 employers and 3254 mothers were surveyed for the report.

Key findings from the mothers’ include:

10% of women say their employer discouraged them from attending antenatal appointments.

One in five say they experienced harassment or negative comments related to pregnancy or flexible working from their employer and colleagues.

9% said that they were treated worse by their employer on their return to work than they were before pregnancy.

11% reported having been dismissed or made compulsorily redundant where others in their workplace were not, or treated so poorly they felt they had to leave their jobs.  If this is scaled up to the general population this could mean as many as 54,000 mothers a year.  Which is almost twice the amount found from similar research in 2005.

In contrast the employers survey revealed:

84% of employers believe that supporting pregnant workers and those on maternity leave is in the interests of their organisations.

Around eight out of 10 employers said they agree that pregnant women and those returning from maternity leave are just as committed to their work as their colleagues.

Two-thirds of employers don’t think that pregnancy puts an unreasonable cost burden on the workplace.

Cathy Warwick, Chief Executive of the Royal College of Midwives said: “It is very worrying that the cases of women being denied time off to attend antenatal care are increasing. Women who miss antenatal appointments miss out on essential screening tests and valuable advice around smoking and nutrition. Evidence shows that missing antenatal appointments can increase the risk of smaller babies, premature babies, miscarriages and stillbirth. This is particularly important for women with complex health needs.”

Justine Roberts, chief executive of parenting website Mumsnet, said: “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.”

Read the full report here

RCM response can be viewed here

Read the Guardian’s report here