In today's 'maybe Global Warming is the punishment that we all deserve' news, one in eight employers will apparently not hire a woman if they think she might get pregnant.
It seems that the fact that if women didn't get pregnant the actual population would die out really doesn't matter. The important thing is that it's not very convenient for employers who have to do absolutely bonkers things like provide some maternity pay and hire maternity cover.
The research is from YouGov, working with the Young Women's Trust{
- of men and 10% of women said that the potential for the person to go on maternity leave factors into their decision making process, despite that being very, very illegal.
The Equality Act of 2010made it properly illegal for businesses to discriminate on the basis of a woman being pregnant or seeming like she might become pregnant soon.
While the law is well intended and better than nothing, it's almost impossible to prove that the reason you didn't get hired is because you're a woman of childbearing age, which means that companies very often get away with this type of discrimination.
For the record, a potential employer should never ask you about your plans to start a family, your marital status, whether you have children, if you want more children, or how you plan to balance childcare with your work.
Some women find that taking off their wedding or engagement ring for an interview makes them seem less likely to have a child - very depressing but also understandable.
Also (because we're just piling on the good news today) once you've got the job, the fight doesn't stop. HR professionals also admitted in the research that they consider a woman's likelihood to become pregnant when assessingwhether she should be promoted within the business.
Again, very illegal and also very hard to prove.
If you suspect that you might be experiencing pregnancy discrimination (or even pre-pregnancy discrimination based on your age and gender) then you should speak to your HR department or consult a legal professional.
Organisations such as Pregnant Then Screwedwill provide free and confidential support for women who are experiencing pregnancy discrimination.