Parental pay transparency would do wonders for workplace equality – but the government need to take action

Each year 54,000 women are forced out of their jobs due to pregnancy and maternity discrimination in the UK. Britain's major employers now agree that this is wrong

Publishing parental pay benefits will let employers show that they’re family-friendly and enable them to better attract talent, potentially spurring on some very healthy competition (Sean Gallup/Getty)

A new mother forced to resign after being bombarded with texts and emails telling her she “obviously can’t work with two kids”. Another one who returns to work to find herself reapplying for her job after a company restructure. And another who feels she has no choice but to quit because her employer won’t give her the time and space she needs to express milk for her daughter.

These are just a small selection of the real-life stories published by Pregnant then Screwed, a campaign group that protects and promotes the rights of mothers. They are a powerful reminder that we have a long way to go to achieve workplace equality.

Each year 54,000 women are forced out of their jobs because of pregnancy and maternity discrimination in the UK. A decade ago, the figure was 30,000. And these figures don’t even capture the myriad other ways in which women are penalised for having children, from missing out on promotions and pay rises to losing a place on a big project or trip abroad.

Liberal Democrats demand better. We know that if we are to get serious about tackling discrimination against new parents and pregnant women in our workplaces then we need employers to get on board.

That is why in June this year – building on the successful gender pay gap reporting I delivered as the employment relations minister in the coalition government – I introduced a new bill in parliament. This bill would require all employers with more than 250 employees to publish details of their parental leave and pay entitlements. I am pleased to already have secured cross-party support from Nicky Morgan, the former Conservative cabinet minister, Harriet Harman, David Lammy and Gareth Thomas from Labour, Caroline Lucas of the Greens, and Alison Thewliss of the SNP.

It is a simple, light-touch regulatory change that will bring great benefits to employers, employees and prospective job applicants. And today, in response to my campaign, 10 major employers representing around 150,000 employees have agreed to publish their parental leave and pay policies.

Accenture, Addleshaw Goddard, RBS, Direct Line Group, Deloitte LLP, EY, KPMG, Linklaters, Santander and PwC have all set an excellent example, demonstrating to others they can do it too.

Publishing parental pay benefits will let employers show that they’re family-friendly and enable them to better attract talent, potentially spurring on some very healthy competition.

Applicants would no longer need to ask about parental leave policy at interview either. And when most employers think a woman should have to disclose at interview if she is pregnant, we need to do everything we can to reduce discrimination in the recruitment process. We should spare women these awkward conversations with people they’ve just met.

Being transparent about parental leave and pay policies will help build a workplace culture where men also feel supported in taking on their fair share of caring responsibilities. But, again, there is no single solution to the problem. We also need working dads, especially those in leadership roles, to be open and proud about how they balance professional and family responsibilities. And the government needs to give fathers a bigger chunk of leave allocated just for them on a use-it-or-lose-it basis and to enhance statutory pay for parental leave.

Men want to play a bigger and equal role in raising their children, but as a society we don’t support them in that. Research published earlier this month by Business in the Community found that 85 per cent of men think that men should be as involved in all aspects of childcare as women, and 56 per cent of men with caring responsibilities want to be more involved in caring.

Two thirds of them also said they would make better use of the policies available to help them balance work and care, if they could be confident that it wouldn’t affect their career prospects, a sorry consequence of motherhood that women have too often had to accept.

I was delighted when earlier this month the government, again in response to my campaign, instructed all civil service departments to publish their parental leave and pay entitlements. It is quite right for the civil service to set the gold standard for employment in the UK.

But the government must go one step further and back my bill now. And, in the meantime, all employers should follow the civil service’s example and take one more step towards fairer and more equal workplaces.

Jo Swinson MP is the deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats