Women returning to work after pregnancy report high levels of discrimination in Australia

Pregnant women also reported an 89% discrimination rate in the workplace, while those on parental leave had an 84.7% discrimination rate, according to the report.

Parental leave improvements

Rachael Potter, lead of the report, said the review is "timely and significant" as the government recently greenlit the expansion of paid parental leave to 26 weeks by 2026.

The paper also follows the government's recent commitment to pay superannuation on top of its Paid Parental Leave scheme starting next year.

"However, implementing parental leave improvements alone will not counter the vast discrimination, disadvantage, and bias experienced by pregnant and parent workers," Potter said in the report.

Return to work discrimination

For women returning to workplaces, 59.5% of them agreed they had access to flexible work arrangements, with 37.1% saying they were encouraged to do so.

However, 43.9% also said they received negative or offensive remarks over working part-time or requiring flexible work hours, according to the report. Some 44.6% also noted they received "no information" about their return-to-work entitlements.

Upon returning, some 26.9% of the respondents also noted they weren't provided with appropriate breastfeeding or expressing facilities.

Impact on career progression

They also felt that their career progression was impacted when they got back, according to the report. These incidents include:

• Given fewer opportunities for career advancement and/or promotion (45.1%)
• Returned to a job with a lower status or less responsibility (34%)
• Had their tasks or jobs altered against their wishes (30.6%)
• Received less salary and/or bonuses, or received a lesser pay rise or bonus than their peers at work (23%)

Some 6.8% were threatened with redundancy or termination of employment, while 7.7% were actually made redundant by their employer.

Another 5.8% said their contracts weren't renewed, 3.9% said they were made casual, while 3.5% said they were terminated.

Treatment towards returning staff

Treatment towards them in the workplace also changed, the report found. Some of these incidents include:

• Had their opinions ignored (64.8%)
• Were ignored or excluded (43.4%)
• Experienced excessive monitoring of their work (41.2%)
• Got ignored or faced a hostile reaction when they approached (27.9%)
• Received repeated reminders of errors or mistakes (24.1%)
• Were humiliated or ridiculed in connection to their work (20.7%)
• Received persistent criticism of errors or mistakes (20.7%)

What can employers do?

The report raised several recommendations to ensure that pregnant women and those coming back to work don't feel excluded in the workplaces.

This includes closer consultation between employers and employees so management can understand pregnancy-related needs.

"Consultation may include understanding pregnancy-related needs, discussing access to 'keep in touch days' during parental leave, as well as regarding any work role changes when returning to work," the report read.

Appropriate space for breastfeeding or expressing milk should also be provided, according to the report. Management and HR are also urged to foster a workplace culture that is inclusive and does not tolerate disrespect or negative acts.

"There needs to be ergonomic role adjustments to minimise risk of harm," the report added.