[UK] It is essential for employers to address bias against working mothers

The theme of International Women’s Day 2022 was #BreakTheBias. Research shows that maternal bias is the strongest type of gender bias and involves an assumption that women become less committed to their work if they decide to have children. Subsequently, women are overlooked for promotion opportunities and this contributes to the gender pay gap in the UK, which increased to 15.4 per cent in 2021, Clyde & Co reports.

Additionally the ‘motherhood penalty’ can lead to women with children receiving 45 per cent lower earnings in the long-term compared to women without.

The UK government has proposed making flexible working the default and more employers than ever are exploring hybrid working options. Although this will potentially help employees juggle work and caring responsibilities, research has also suggested that people working from home may be overlooked for promotion which could worsen the motherhood penalty. It is therefore essential that employers work to address biases in relation to working mothers.

Challenging the assumption that mothers, rather than fathers, should be the ones to fit work around caregiving is a positive start.  Part of this involves making sure that expectant parents are aware of the leave options they are entitled to. Shared Parental Leave was introduced in the UK in 2015 and intended to minimise the effects of the motherhood penalty and move beyond the assumption that the mother is always the primary carer. This option allows two eligible parents to share 50 weeks of Shared Parental Leave and 37 weeks’ Shared Parental Pay. For birth parents, it requires the mother to ‘curtail’ her maternity leave first.

It has been proposed that an increase in the uptake of Shared Parental Leave could help to reduce the gender pay gap in the UK yet uptake remains markedly low. Between 2020 and 2021 less than 2 per cent of eligible couples applied for the leave, a drop of 17 per cent from the previous year. More fathers were working from home and therefore able to see their newborns without taking parental leave so this may have contributed to the reduction. 

Paternity leave uptake was reportedly also at its lowest in 10 years for this period and the burden of childcare significantly increased for women in comparison to men during the pandemic. 

Low uptake rates of Shared Parental Leave are often attributed to the low statutory pay rate, in combination with pay differences between men and women, together with the complexity of the regulations, as well as the requirement for the mother to ‘give up’ her maternity leave.

The UK Government carried out a consultation on parental leave and pay reforms. It concluded in November 2019 but the results have yet to be published, likely delayed by the pandemic. There are, however, steps that employers can be taking in the meantime to help make Shared Parental Leave a more viable option

The 2019 UK Court of Appeal case of Ali v Capita Customer Management Ltd (Rev 2) [2019] Ltd found that not enhancing Shared Parental Pay in the same way as Maternity Pay did not amount to sex discrimination but it does not follow that employers shouldn’t do so. Enhancing pay for family leave which men are eligible to take is one of the more straightforward ways in which employers can encourage sharing childcare.

Education and communication also play key parts. HR professionals should be familiar with how the regulations work in practice. Shared Parental Leave should be well publicised so it is more than a policy in a handbook and all parents seeking to take parental leave should be advised of their options. Making it easier for mothers - especially breastfeeding mothers - to return to work is also the responsibility of employers.

The most important thing employers can do is to change their perspective on family leave policies by making them an integral part of their diversity and inclusion agendas.

Employers often consider enhancing family leave and pay as a way to attract talent or retain staff, treating it in the same way they would annual leave entitlements, bonus schemes or other benefits. To properly address bias and improve the gender pay gap, employers must look beyond this and consider the impact offering family leave and pay above the statutory minimum could have on gender equality in their workplaces. 

There are no guarantees that it will increase uptake, however, challenging cultural expectations and modelling support from the top could mean more women are able to return to work earlier and share the burden of childcare if they want to.

Source: Clyde & Co

(Links via original reporting)

The theme of International Women’s Day 2022 was #BreakTheBias. Research shows that maternal bias is the strongest type of gender bias and involves an assumption that women become less committed to their work if they decide to have children. Subsequently, women are overlooked for promotion opportunities and this contributes to the gender pay gap in the UK, which increased to 15.4 per cent in 2021, Clyde & Co reports.

Additionally the ‘motherhood penalty’ can lead to women with children receiving 45 per cent lower earnings in the long-term compared to women without.

The UK government has proposed making flexible working the default and more employers than ever are exploring hybrid working options. Although this will potentially help employees juggle work and caring responsibilities, research has also suggested that people working from home may be overlooked for promotion which could worsen the motherhood penalty. It is therefore essential that employers work to address biases in relation to working mothers.

Challenging the assumption that mothers, rather than fathers, should be the ones to fit work around caregiving is a positive start.  Part of this involves making sure that expectant parents are aware of the leave options they are entitled to. Shared Parental Leave was introduced in the UK in 2015 and intended to minimise the effects of the motherhood penalty and move beyond the assumption that the mother is always the primary carer. This option allows two eligible parents to share 50 weeks of Shared Parental Leave and 37 weeks’ Shared Parental Pay. For birth parents, it requires the mother to ‘curtail’ her maternity leave first.

It has been proposed that an increase in the uptake of Shared Parental Leave could help to reduce the gender pay gap in the UK yet uptake remains markedly low. Between 2020 and 2021 less than 2 per cent of eligible couples applied for the leave, a drop of 17 per cent from the previous year. More fathers were working from home and therefore able to see their newborns without taking parental leave so this may have contributed to the reduction. 

Paternity leave uptake was reportedly also at its lowest in 10 years for this period and the burden of childcare significantly increased for women in comparison to men during the pandemic. 

Low uptake rates of Shared Parental Leave are often attributed to the low statutory pay rate, in combination with pay differences between men and women, together with the complexity of the regulations, as well as the requirement for the mother to ‘give up’ her maternity leave.

The UK Government carried out a consultation on parental leave and pay reforms. It concluded in November 2019 but the results have yet to be published, likely delayed by the pandemic. There are, however, steps that employers can be taking in the meantime to help make Shared Parental Leave a more viable option

The 2019 UK Court of Appeal case of Ali v Capita Customer Management Ltd (Rev 2) [2019] Ltd found that not enhancing Shared Parental Pay in the same way as Maternity Pay did not amount to sex discrimination but it does not follow that employers shouldn’t do so. Enhancing pay for family leave which men are eligible to take is one of the more straightforward ways in which employers can encourage sharing childcare.

Education and communication also play key parts. HR professionals should be familiar with how the regulations work in practice. Shared Parental Leave should be well publicised so it is more than a policy in a handbook and all parents seeking to take parental leave should be advised of their options. Making it easier for mothers - especially breastfeeding mothers - to return to work is also the responsibility of employers.

The most important thing employers can do is to change their perspective on family leave policies by making them an integral part of their diversity and inclusion agendas.

Employers often consider enhancing family leave and pay as a way to attract talent or retain staff, treating it in the same way they would annual leave entitlements, bonus schemes or other benefits. To properly address bias and improve the gender pay gap, employers must look beyond this and consider the impact offering family leave and pay above the statutory minimum could have on gender equality in their workplaces. 

There are no guarantees that it will increase uptake, however, challenging cultural expectations and modelling support from the top could mean more women are able to return to work earlier and share the burden of childcare if they want to.

Source: Clyde & Co

(Links via original reporting)