Mine was not a typical pregnancy. Unlike most women, I was lucky to be in a position of power at work. As Government minister responsible both for employment law and equalities protection, I was ideally placed to speak out and be heard if I had experienced discrimination.
But not everyone is so fortunate. Back in 2013, I secured funding for the Equalities & Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to undertake the most extensive research ever into pregnancy discrimination in the UK. The findings, finally published in spring 2016, were damning. 54,000 women a year forced out of their jobs due to pregnancy discrimination. 53,000 feeling pressured by their employer to miss ante-natal appointments.
Around 70 0per cent of employers say women should declare if they’re pregnant at job interview, and a quarter think it’s reasonable…
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