‘One in eight employers would not hire a woman who may become pregnant’

One in eight employers say they would be reluctant to hire a woman who they thought may go on to have children, according to a new YouGov survey for Young Women’s Trust.

In the survey of 800 HR decision-makers, 12 per cent were unsure about hiring women who may have children in the future – despite it being illegal to make recruitment decisions on this basis – 14 per cent of male HR decision-makers – a slight fall on previous years – and 10 per cent of female decision-makers expressed this view.

One in seven HR decision-makers (14 per cent) said that the organisation they work in takes account of whether a woman is pregnant or has children during decisions about career progression or promotion – which is against the law. This compares with 22 per cent who reported this in 2018 and 25 per cent in 2017.

Young Women’s Trust’s Director of Communications and Campaigns Joe Levenson said:  “It is encouraging that fewer bosses than previously say they would be reluctant to employ women who may go on to have children. However, there can be no room for complacency as ‘dinosaur bosses’ are still found in many workplaces, unfairly overlooking women when it comes to recruitment and promotion and breaking the law in the process.”

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