South: Keeping mum

Peter Henley Politics Editor, BBC South

Pregnancy is still often seen as an excuse for redundancy or dismissal

Women in the workplace are a force to be reckoned with, but are they better off than they were 30 years ago? Despite some improvements, little has changed for most women workers in the South.

We have passed a milestone in the South East of England. There are now more women at work than men.

The figures do not take account of the part-time nature of many women's work of course, but the social change is undeniable - the scales have tipped.

But have the attitudes of employers and government kept up?

Worse for women?

Pay, pensions, promotion chances, are all worse for women.

A report from the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) this week showed that women who have spent just one year in part-time work can expect to earn 10% less after 15 years than those who continue full-time.

In fact the pay gap between men and women is the same as 30 years ago.

The unfairness of the "Mummy Track" extends to promotion and even training.

Part-time workers are 40% less likely to be sent on courses, the report states.

Julie Mellor, Chairman of the EOC says: "Britain is facing a crisis if it does not address the need for flexible hours at work."

Flexible working hours are not always freely given

Flexible mums

The government argues that things are moving forward.

Since 2003, workers with children under the age of six have the right to ask for flexible working arrangements.

The employer can refuse but only if they have a good business reason.

Under current legislation, workers should not be passed over for promotion, have their pay docked or be sacked purely because they are pregnant.

Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) guarantees to pay 90% of average earnings for the first six weeks of leave followed by 20 weeks at £102.80 per week.

New mothers are also entitled to take another 26 weeks of additional leave.

And if you leave work to have a baby your employer has to give you the same job back at the same money if you return within six months.

Pregnancy discrimination?

However not everybody is so positive about women's prospects in the work place.

Is the workplace a fair and level playing field for women yet?

The Equal Opportunities Commission's Pregnant and Productive campaign is an investigation into pregnancy discrimination.

The EOC claim that 30,000 women a year are sacked, made redundant or leave their jobs due to pregnancy discrimination.

Its research reveals that:

• 45% of women who had worked while pregnant said they experienced some form of discrimination because of their pregnancy
• 21% said they lost out financially due to discrimination
• 5% were put under pressure to hand in their notice when they announced their pregnancy

Business track

But there is a silver lining to the "Mummy Track". The number of female entrepreneurs is rising fast.

Rachel Elnaugh of the BBC programme "Dragon's Den" has been impressed by the calibre of ideas coming from women, who understand what other women want, and have the organisational skills to start companies that can deliver.

Rachel is five months pregnant, but looking forward to getting back to work quickly. The time women spend out of work after having a baby has dropped dramatically.

In the balance

The legal rights of pregnant workers are guaranteed under the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and the Employment Rights Act 1996. 441,000 women are pregnant at work each year. Under this legislation workers should not be passed over for promotion, have their pay docked or be sacked purely because they are pregnant. New mothers are entitled to 26 weeks off, regardless of how long they have worked for their employer. Following birth, fathers are entitled to two weeks on Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) £102.80 per week or 90% of their average weekly earnings if they earn less than £102.80 a week. The EOC say that discrimination is worse in retail, catering and manual jobs.

Twenty five years ago, less than a quarter of women with babies returned to work within eight months, now three quarters are back within that time.

And though men are supposed to be playing a more active role as fathers only one in 10 has taken up the chance for more flexible working.

There's a long way to go before we all find a work-life balance.

So should government and employers be working harder to tip the scales?

Politics Show

Join Peter Henley on Politics Show, BBC One, Sunday, 20 February, 2005 at 12.30pm.

Let us know what you think.

---

---