Tech & Rights

Pregnancy Discrimination Is Not Decreasing in the Netherlands

Over 40 percent of women in the labor market have dealt with possible discrimination based on pregnancy or early motherhood. According to research by the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights, discrimination has not reduced in the past four years.

by PILP
(Image: Brian Wolfe)

No improvement in four years' time

Commissioned by the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights, TNS NIPO surveyed over 1,000 women over a period of four years, who have been pregnant and/or became a mother and were looking for work or were working during that time.

In 2012, 45 percent of the questioned women stated that they experienced situations that indicated pregnancy discrimination. The percentage in 2016 is still 43 percent.

"Unfortunately, no improvement occurred in this persistent form of discrimination that continues to undermine women's job security and forms a significant societal problem," says Adriana van Dooijeweert, chairwoman of the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights. "Thirty-two percent of the surveyed women who were on the verge of signing an employment contract during their pregnancy indicated that the contract did not come through or was amended after they stated they were pregnant. Forty-four percent of women with ending contracts were probably not given renewed contracts because of their pregnancy. These are very high percentages and this practice is in conflict with the law."

Van Dooijeweert also noted the failure of current action to combat this practice, saying, "Measures that were taken by the government in context of our last research have proven to be ineffective."

Decreased willingness to report

When women felt discriminated because of their pregnancy or motherhood, only one in seven felt prepared to report the discrimination. This is almost half of what it was in 2012.

The most important reason for respondents not to report discrimination to their employer, union leader or elsewhere, is the expectation that it will have "no effect."

Pregnancy discrimination

Discrimination occurs in different work areas. Think about the job application procedure, the entering or ending of a job contract or the negotiations about the general employment conditions. One in 10 women indicated that they missed a promotion, salary increase or further education because of their most recent pregnancy. Eleven percent were explicitly rejected in an application procedure because of pregnancy, motherhood or the desire to have child.

A notable risk factor for certain types of pregnancy discrimination appears to be the professional level. In a higher professional level, women experience more problems in taking up leave, while women who work in a lower professional level are more often openly criticized about their pregnancy.

Childbirth complications

It was also researched to what extent negative experiences in the working environment affect the health of mother and child.

35 percent of the respondents who worked or were applying for jobs, suffered from childbirth complications or health issues.

The research seems to indicate that these types of problems are more prevalent when women had negative experiences in the workplace before childbirth.

Action plan

In response to the research report, the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights is calling on the government to draw up a focused action plan and to implement it. The plan has to contain a significant information component for employers and women and a component that focuses on enforcement.

The Netherlands Institute for Human Rights finds that the action plan should have the ambition to decrease the amount of reported cases of pregnancy discrimination with more than 50 percent over the next five years.

Read here the complete article of the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights and the research report (in Dutch).

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