In 2018 the Australian Human Rights Commission reported that 1 in 2 mothers experienced workplace discrimination whilst 1 in 5 lost their jobs.
Shocking stats right?
Fast forward to 2024, and it’s gotten worse.
A recent study was conducted by the University of South Australia involving a cohort of over 1200 pregnant and parent workers (with almost 95% identifying as women). They found 91.8% of respondents experienced discrimination during their return-to-work phase, 84.7% during parental leave and 89% while pregnant at work. Whilst 22.4% lost their jobs.
These figures are really disheartening and highlight the importance of supporting parents throughout their transition beginning with pregnancy and continuing beyond their initial return to work date.
The researchers also laid out the size of this issue stating that pregnant and parent workers represent a substantial and growing proportion of the Australian workforce. Over 20% of all Australian households have young children and the percentage of dual-earner parent couples with children under 18 years has increased from 53% in 1996 to 61% in 2016. The 2023 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reported that the number of children has increased over the last fifty years, with the number estimated to grow to 6.4 million by the year 2048.
So this isn’t a small issue – and it’s growing. More needs to be done.
If you’re an employer and would like to chat about how you can do more to support working parents – feel free to DM me!
If you’re another passionate person working in this space who would like to join forces to achieve greater impact – please get in touch.
This is a big problem but together we can make a positive difference for working parents!
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Mothers Face Workplace Discrimination
