Pregnant women and new mothers face growing discrimination at work

Pregnant women and new mothers are experiencing increasing discrimination at work. New reports have revealed that some employers practice unfair labor treatment up to the extent of cutting the job hours, and compelling pregnant women and new mothers to leave their jobs.

According to Citizens Advice charity,  there had been a 25% rise of pregnant women and new mothers searching for advice on maternity and pregnancy issues in the recent year. The charity claimed that more and more women are seeking advice on the problems they are facing in their jobs.  They complained about the hours being reduced, receiving zero-hours contracts and having forced to quit their job. There had been 22,000 visits to the charity's website, The Guardian reported.

"Pregnant women should be supported at work, not made to fear for their livelihood. It is concerning that more and more new and expectant mums are experiencing discrimination issues at work," the chief executive of Citizens Advice, Gillian Guy, told the publishing. He added that discrimination at work won't help pregnant women and new mothers, who already have a lot of things in their mind. Guy stressed that they don't need another problem, including a threat to their job security, according to ITV.

The report supports the findings of a government research that showed an increase in pregnancy discrimination at work. The study conducted by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) revealed that three-quarters of pregnant women and new mothers were discriminated in their workplace. This leads to one out of nine women losing their job.  

Since 2005, pregnancy discrimination has been on the rise. During the study, they found that 45% of women experienced illegal treatment from their employers, News Sky cited.

"Attracting and retaining female talent is crucial to economic growth and, as well as being against the law, it does not make business sense for employers to alienate and discriminate against women in their workforce," a government spokesman said.  He added that discrimination is "unlawful and completely unacceptable."

The EHRC has since recommended various steps to secure the rights of pregnant women and new mothers in the workplace.  The commission suggested reforms to prevent employers from asking sensitive questions about a woman's pregnancy during interviews.  EHRC's move to reduce the employment tribunal fees was not granted by the government. However, the government accepted suggestions that will help employers realize their legal responsibilities.

Tags

Gillian Guy, Equality and Human Rights Commission, Citizens Advice charity, Pregnant women and new mothers, Pregnancy Discrimination Act, employment

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