Commission says employers '˜living in dark ages'

The report from the Equality and Human Rights Commission revealed worrying attitudes towards unlawful behaviour when it comes to recruiting women.

Results included 41 per cent of employers agreeing that pregnancy puts ‘an unnecessary cost burden’ on the workplace.

The survey asked 1,106 senior business decision makers a variety of questions regarding women in business.

They found that a third of private sector employers agree it is reasonable to ask women about their plans to have children in the future during recruitment.

Six in 10 employers agreed a woman should have to disclose whether she is pregnant and almost half said it is reasonable to ask women if they have young children during the recruitment process.

Ursula Tavender, founder of Mumbelievable, consults with companies wanting to move towards a more supportive, flexible and inclusive culture for working parents.

Ursula, from Fareham, said: ‘There are almost five million mothers working in the UK, and countless others who want to work but aren’t able to as they face significant barriers when attempting to return.

‘We all know it’s clearly in the interests of our economy and our future to change the way business views working mothers and to embrace a more humanised culture that is truly people focused.

‘This research shows we still have much work to do.

‘I fully support the important work by the Equality and Human Rights Commission and the excellent Working Forward initiative in driving change.’

The EHRC is urging employers to quash these attitudes and combat pregnancy and maternity discrimination in the workplace immediately.