Estimating the financial costs of pregnancy and maternity-related discrimination and disadvantage

In 2016, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) published two GB-wide reports exploring a programme of research to investigate the prevalence and nature of pregnancy discrimination and disadvantage in the workplace (Adams et al., 2016a and b). They reported findings from surveys carried out with 3,034 employers and 3,254 mothers, and covered the views and experiences of employers and mothers on a range of issues related to managing pregnancy, maternity leave and mothers returning to work. They found that 11 per cent of women reported they were either dismissed; made compulsorily redundant, where others in their workplace were not; or treated so poorly they felt they had to leave their job. Twenty per cent of mothers reported other financial loss which included failing to gain a promotion, salary reduction, a lower pay rise or bonus, not receiving non-salary benefits and/or demotion. This report uses the same terminology and definitions as the BIS/EHRC reports mentioned above and is also GB-wide.