Pregnant working women and new mothers face maternity discrimination at work, according to a new research. Approximately 77 percent or 3 in 4 pregnant women said that they have experienced discrimination while they were pregnant, on maternity leave and having returned from maternity leave. Cases of maternity discrimination have risen over the past few years starting in 2005 where only 45 percent ofpregnant working women experienced it.
Additionally, the research also revealed that one in five mothers said they have experienced negative comments in their workplace about their pregnancy and flexible working schedules. Only two thirds of mothers who request for flexible working schedules are approved and half who are approved said that it had a negative impact on their career and colleagues.
As for employers, majority say that they support pregnant women and maternity leaves. A good 80 percent of employers say that majority of pregnant women and those returning from maternity leaves were as committed to their work.
However, 70 percent said that women should also declare plans of having children in the near future during the recruitment phase of the employment. Nearly a third of employers felt negatively about pregnancy and thought it to be costly while 17 percent think that pregnant mothers are not as invested in their careers.
Pregnancy discrimination is now more common than ever before. Our new campaign> https://t.co/wsAUa67FAT #MothersWork pic.twitter.com/huCW0ofDxE
— Maternity Action (@MaternityAction) October 13, 2015
The report was commissioned by The Equality and Human Rights Commission (ECHR) and the results were considered to be shocking. Caroline Waters of the ECHR said that swift measures should be taken by the government to offset the challenges that pregnant mothers face in the workforce.
"We simply cannot ignore the true scale of the hidden discrimination that working mothers face," Waters told The Guardian. "We want to make workplaces fairer for everyone and get rid of outdated practices like asking women during job interviews whether they intend to have children. For businesses to thrive, they need to harness the talents, skills and experience of all employees."
