A Conservative think tank just came up with the most shockingly awful recommendations for women I've ever seen

Wealthier women should give up their maternity pay for poorer women, apparently, and struggling parents should pay for their childcare costs with Government-backed loans

A recent survey showed that women feel forced back to work sooner than they would like (Getty)

Bringing a new baby into the world is tough. Not just because you go through hours of excruciating labour and then spend months surviving on 45 minutes’ sleep a night; it is tough emotionally and financially. The impact can last a lifetime; from severe debt, to a stagnant career, to deep depression, shattered confidence and purple stretch marks.

This brings us to Bright Blue, a Conservative think tank, which is apparently keen to relieve some of the burden on new parents, citing the gender pay gap and pregnancy and maternity discrimination as problems the Government needs to address. Amen to that!

This week, they launched their recommendations. There were three that really stood out for me – one was music to my ears, and two made me choke on my morning muesli.

Let’s start with the sensible recommendation: ‘’Abolish tribunal fees for those who pay a basic rate of tax’’. Pregnant Then Screwed, Unison, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, and other organisations who work with victims of workplace discrimination have been calling for tribunal fees to be abolished since they were initiated. Making someone pay to access justice makes the justice system inaccessible.

A victim of pregnancy or maternity discrimination is forced to pay £1,200 just to raise a claim. Who has that sort of money when you are surviving on £139 a week? Tribunal fees are part of the reason why less than 1 per cent of women who encounter pregnancy or maternity discrimination raise a tribunal claim. So, yes let’s do that, let’s finally make our justice system available to people who don’t have loads of money.

Unfortunately, the good news ends there.

The think tank then recommends we take money from wealthier mothers to subsidise maternity pay for poorer mothers. The current system gives employees six weeks’ maternity leave at 90 per cent of their usual pay, followed by 33 weeks at just under £140 a week.

UK maternity pay is among the lowest in Europe: it is hard for any family to survive on this measly sum. Undoubtedly, it is something that needs to be looked at – but why oh why are we pitting mothers against each other? Even mothers classed as “rich” here struggle during maternity leave as their salary drops dramatically and new expenses arise. Why are we only penalising women who, against all the odds, have managed to get to a position where they are earning a good wage?

This policy is indicative of a much larger problem: the fact that our society does not value caregiving. Surely we want the next generation to have the resources they need to thrive? Particularly in the early days, this is important for everyone in society. Investing in those who are caring for the next generation is an investment in our society's future.

By recommending this policy, the think tank is admitting there is a serious problem, but they push the burden onto other mothers. What the Government needs to do is invest in our carers and invest in our children.

Another mind-bogglingly awful recommendation is that we give Government-backed loans to help families pay for childcare. Because that is just what families need more of: debt. Alongside one of the lowest rates of maternity pay, we have the most second most expensive childcare in the world. It is prohibitively expensive for many families making it impossible to return to work.

If we were to properly subsidise childcare, it would mean that millions of parents could work. The

Women’s Equality Party has demonstrated that subsidising childcare pays for itself. It tends to be women, rather than men, who take a career break to look after children and this has a long-term impact on their career progression. It is a key contributor to the gender pay gap.

If you want to fix the gender pay gap, then affordable childcare has got to be high on your list. Offering loans is not the solution. The majority of people are debt-averse and when your income is less than your childcare costs, it just doesn’t make sense, no matter when you pay.

What is most telling is that all of these recommendations focus on mothers. If we really want to solve pregnancy and maternity discrimination and the gender pay gap, then we need to start talking about fathers. We will never have equality in the workplace until we have equality in the home, and we will never have equality in the home until our Government enables men to take a proper amount of time out to care for their children.

We need radical, innovative changes to our legislation to fix this problem. Stop papering over the cracks and show us that families are worth investing in.

Joeli Brearly works for Pregnant Then Screwed – view their Instagram here