Britain launches program to tackle pregnancy discrimination at work

The British government has launched a new research program to help tackle pregnancy discrimination in the workplace as Minister for Women and Equalities Maria Miller has been given the go-ahead to the research project on Monday. The government will earmark 1 million pounds (1.59 million U.S. dollars) to fund the program of independent research, which will examine the extent of pregnancy discrimination in Britain and its effect on both families and the economy. According to a statement issued by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, over 9,000 pregnancy discrimination claims have been brought against British employers since 2007. The last full study on pregnancy discrimination was carried out nearly 10 years ago, which found that being pregnant cost families nearly 12 million pounds a year in lost maternity pay as women were fired before they were entitled to claim. The report highlighted that half of all pregnant women in Britain experienced some form of disadvantage at work, simply for being pregnant or taking maternity leave, with 30,000 women saying they had been forced out of their jobs. Miller said: "It's unacceptable that women suffer from discrimination when they become pregnant and yet many are saying that they are treated unfairly at work because of it." "I am determined that we tackle these systemic problems which leave women feeling undervalued and penalized. We have made some significant changes to help women at work but there is more to do." "This new research will be crucial in helping us to understand the extent of the problem and the issues around it," Miller said. The research project was proposed and will be carried out by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). It will investigate employers' practices towards employees who are pregnant or on maternity leave, and these employee's experiences in the workplace to provide evidence on the extent, causes and effects of pregnancy and maternity discrimination. Mark Hammond, Chief Executive of the EHRC, said: "It is very concerning that in 2013 a number of women are still being disadvantaged in the workplace just because they are pregnant. That would be unlawful discrimination and needs to be tackled." "We will look at existing research, gather new evidence and carry out our expert analysis to establish the extent of the problem and advise on how best it can to be addressed." The Commission will also help women by running an education campaign aimed at employees and employers to raise their awareness of pregnancy and maternity discrimination rights and obligations.