'Dear Employer': Women urged to pen letter to HR outlining poor practice

A new campaign is urging women to pen letters to their employers to call out the motherhood penalty and the gender pay and promotion gap.

The campaign, ‘Dear Employer’, is encouraging working parents to send a letter to their CEO or HR department this Friday to voice how they could improve workplace practices for them.

Research by Working Forward, a national campaign established by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, found that pregnancy and maternity discrimination at work affects around 390,000 pregnant women and new mothers each year.

It found that although the majority of employers say they are firm supporters of female staff during and after pregnancy, 77% of mothers say they have had a negative or possibly discriminatory experience at work.