Pregnant women are still too often discriminated against in and around the workplace. Almost half (45%) of women on the labor market are confronted with this, which means that this is about 65,000 women every year. For some, this even means losing their jobs. That is why the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights is issuing a national appeal to pregnant women to report discrimination in and around the workplace. Pregnant women can report discrimination via www.mensrechten.nl/zwanger.
Pregnancy discrimination means that employers cannot refuse a job or treat women differently in the workplace because they are pregnant or have young children. The protection of pregnant women and women with young children applies to recruitment and selection, terms of employment, working conditions, training and promotion, return after leave, termination of the contract and the non-renewal of a temporary contract.
Facts &Figures Pregnancy Discrimination
•45% of women who combine pregnancy and work indicate that they have experienced something that according to the law indicates discrimination.
•44% of women with a temporary contract indicate that their contract has not been extended (partly) because of pregnancy.
•38% of women indicate that the contract is canceled at the last minute or that the conditions are changed because of the pregnancy.
•13% of women indicate that they have been disadvantaged by their pregnancy or motherhood. They were excluded from a promotion, missed a salary increase, were not allowed to follow training or missed a permanent contract and/or extension of hours.
•In 10% of the women who remain employed by the same employer after returning from their leave, the employer has taken on certain tasks without her knowledge. In 5% of the cases, the employee was placed in a different, lower position.
•3% of women with a permanent contract indicate that they have been fired (partly) because of pregnancy.
•About half of the women experience unpleasant experiences at work, which cannot always be described as discrimination. For example, dealing with colleagues and/or the manager does not always go well and in practice it is not always possible to breastfeed.
