Nearly 15% of pregnant women, young mothers claim workplace discrimination

Pregnant women and young mothers still deal with discrimination in the work place, but only one in seven of them actually report it t their employer or union. This is because they don't expect any result from filing a complaint, according to a study by TNS NIPO among a thousand pregnant women between March 2012 and March 2016, ANP reports.

The study showed that 45 percent of women deal with discrimination at work due to pregnancy or motherhood. That is about equal to the 43 percent in 2012.

One in ten women missed out on a promotion, salary increase or training due to pregnancy - they were explicitly told so by a supervisor or employer. Discrimination also occur when it comes to termination or conclusion of an employment contract and arranging working conditions - about 11 percent of women were explicitly rejected during the hiring process because of pregnancy, maternity leave or having a child.

The study was done on behalf of the Board for the Protection of Human Rights. The number of workplace discrimination reports from pregnant women and young mothers that reached the Board increased over the past five years from an average of 15 a year to an average of 44 per yer.