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Three-quarters of pregnant women and new mothers experience discrimination at work and one in nine lose their job as a result, government-commissioned research has found.

The report suggests that pregnancy discrimination, which is illegal, has risen significantly since 2005, when 45% of women said they had experienced such discrimination.

The research, published on Tuesday, found one in five mothers said they experienced harassment or negative comments in the workplace related to pregnancy or flexible working and one in 10 said they were discouraged from attending antenatal appointments.

The results, which equate to 390,000 women experiencing discrimination across Britain, were described as shocking by Maternity Action. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (ECHR), which commissioned the report with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, urged the government to take urgent action to address the problem.
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Caroline Waters, deputy chair of ECHR, said: “We simply cannot ignore the true scale of ...
... the hidden discrimination that working mothers face. This is unacceptable in modern Britain, and urgent action is needed to ensure women are able to challenge discrimination and unfairness. This is why we are calling on the government to look at the barriers working pregnant women and mothers face in accessing justice.

“We want to make workplaces fairer for everyone and get rid of outdated practices like asking women during job interviews whether they intend to have children.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.”

The survey of more than 3,000 mothers and 3,000 employers suggested a number of reasons for the escalating problem, including employment tribunal fees of up to £1,200 introduced in 2013, fear of negative repercussions at work, lack of information about rights and the stress of making a claim.

While most employers said it was in their interests to support women who are either pregnant or on maternity leave (84%) and that pregnant women and mothers were as committed as other employees, a significant minority expressed negative views. About a quarter felt pregnancy put an unreasonable cost burden on the workplace and a similar proportion suggested it was reasonable to ask women in job interviews whether they planned to have children.

Three-quarters of mothers questioned who were unsuccessful in job interviews felt the employer’s knowledge of their pregnancy had affected their chances.