Have you experienced discrimination for being pregnant or a mother at work? If not it might surprise you to hear that despite the laws in place to protect against this, it’s more common than you might imagine.

A report by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission found that that three-quarters of pregnant women and new mothers have experienced prejudice, with one in nine women losing their jobs as a result. What’s more, only one in four women affected raised it with their employer, mainly because of the high cost of taking a case to a tribunal.

We asked our readers to share their stories. Here, five women discuss the difficulties they faced while pregnant or after returning to work following maternity leave:

‘I was fired when my boss found out I was pregnant’

I was 19 and had a job in an insurance and wealth management firm. I was on a temporary contract sourced from the local recruitment agency. It was a busy time. We all worked hard. There was talk of a move to a permanent role and more specific training with good progression opportunities.

When I found out I was nearly five months pregnant I told my boss first thing that Monday morning. My employers seemed supportive and again a quick move to a permanent role was mentioned, with a plan to return after maternity leave. I was thrilled.

But then that Friday at 5.30pm I was called into the office. Talk turned the other way: I hadn’t met targets this week, there were complaints. This was all news to me. I was escorted to my desk to collect my things. I was told not to come back. I was in shock, but I was young and naive and I never questioned it. They gave the agency a glowing reference, not citing any issues. As a temporary agency staff member I wasn’t legally protected, despite two years of service. They were completely covered. I have heard other similar stories to mine.
Sophia, 27 from Gloucestershire

‘After maternity leave I was demoted’

I had been promoted into a director’s role prior to announcing my pregnancy. But when I told my boss I was pregnant his response was, “No wonder you wanted to get promoted,” suggesting he thought it had been part of my plan to secure a higher salary to improve my maternity pay.

On my return to work after seven months’ leave I was not allowed to go back to my previous role. They had already recruited a man to replace me and I was to report to him and given the responsibilities of a sales manager (a role I had held five years previously). I was removed from the directors’ meetings (despite still holding a director’s title and pay grade). Their argument for doing this was that I would not be able to focus as much as I needed to on my role as I had to leave at 5pm two days a week to collect my baby from childcare. After six months, I was presented with a settlement agreement and asked to leave. Anonymous, 33 from Northampton

‘I was told getting pregnant so soon after joining was a setback’

I became pregnant with my first child five months after starting a new job. Three months after returning to work following maternity leave, the organisation embarked on a restructuring. My role was one of six that was going to be made redundant but my team urged the board and director to rethink the proposals, which resulted in the director offering me a diminished role. In doing so she said that I should be grateful since getting pregnant so soon after joining was a surprise and a setback for them.

In my current role I have been shocked by the attitude of management towards maternity leave and parenthood. For example, on being offered my present job, which was described as a “high octane role with travel opportunities”, I was asked how, as a mother, I would cope with this. My line manager often held forth his views on maternity leave, describing it as “damaging to stakeholder relationship building”. He openly decried the fact that women on maternity leave accrued holidays and pension benefits.
Anonymous, 42 from Liverpool

‘Before maternity leave there was talk of promotion, but when I returned it was off the cards’

I have a PhD in science and worked as a research scientist at one of the biggest British companies. I was a high flyer and was verbally promised a promotion several times, but it didn’t happen immediately due to organisational changes. A month before I disclosed my pregnancy, my boss was very sure about putting me forward for promotion that year, and positive about my chances of success. Before I went on maternity leave, I worked very hard right up to the last minute and came back after just six months. When I returned nothing was said about my promotion. Instead, everything was stagnant and frustrating. I decided to leave and the UK to come to work in Scandinavian where there is much more gender parity, although there is still not complete equality.
Anonymous, 34 from Scandinavia

‘Colleagues were asked about their plans for children when applying for promotions’

I am currently pregnant with my first baby. I have recently been actively encouraged by my employer to apply for a big promotion that has just opened up. They are very supportive about the potential to fast-track the application before I start maternity leave and to find an intermediate solution to accommodate my being away for 12 months. I am very torn between pushing on in my career and taking the opportunity to focus on my family life and not overstretch myself on my return to work next year.

While working in academia, I witnessed colleagues being asked about their plans for children when applying for promotions. I left academic science six years ago as the working conditions were not ones where a woman with aspirations for both a career and a family could get on – long hours, short-term contracts and pay that was too low to save for a home. Mandatory HR training for all managers about gender discrimination, to prevent them asking about family plans during job interviews would be a move in the right direction, as would more support for women who want to challenge their employers when they think they have been discriminated against.
Anonymous

Have you experienced similar discrimination? Share your stories and comments below the line