ABS survey finds women still face discrimination in pregnancy and motherhood

PREGNANT women and mothers still face workplace discrimination and career dead-ends, ABS research finds.

pregnant

PREGNANT women and mothers still face widespread discrimination, negative comments and career dead-ends in Australian workplaces, researchers say.

A survey by the Australian Bureau of Statistics of 357,500 working women with a child under two revealed 18.8 per cent faced discrimination in the workplace and 29.3 per cent left the workforce permanently while pregnant or after having their child.

According to the report, 29 per cent of women started or returned to work within three months of the birth of the child.

A further 28 per cent returned between four and six months of the birth and 33 per cent returned within 12 months.

Of the women who returned to work, more than half said they were motivated by a desire for adult interaction and mental stimulation. One in four said they returned to keep their employer happy.

To save costs, grandparents were the preferred child minding option for 87,900 parents (42.8 per cent) compared to 57,700 (28.1 per cent) who utilised long day care.

The research showed 31,200 women felt they received negative comments from their manager or colleagues, 22,900 said they missed out on a promotion, 10,100 reported their duties were changed without consultation, 4,500 were demoted and 1,200 said their hours were changed without consultation.

Helen Conway, Director of the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency said she was not surprised by the results.

"There has not been a lot of improvement since 2005 (when the last survey was completed),'' she said.

"We need to change corporate culture."

Ms Conway said sexism in Australian workplaces is still strong and the gender pay gap is evidence of this.