“We’re going back to the 1950s”: The North’s working mums facing maternity discrimination

Shortly afterwards, Lo received a letter urging her to come back to the office full-time otherwise “there’s no job for you here”. 

“I was 25 when I became a mum. Looking back now that I’m 33, I had absolutely no idea what I was walking into. I naively thought they’d just let me work flexibly, why would they not?”

Forced to restart her career, she spent years climbing back up the career ladder. Working nights in a local Spar and eventually up into retail management, she decided to take on her “side hustle” Good Copy full-time in 2021 with the support of well-known influencers such as Anna “Mother Pukka” Whitehouse.

Recalling similar barriers as a working mum but in the world of broadcast is Michelle Baratt, a TV producer living in Manchester.

Kick-starting her career in journalism working for BBC News and BBC Breakfast, she moved into factual TV after one of her documentaries was commissioned.  

“I moved down to London from 2015 to 2017 then I moved back to Manchester, pregnant. From there, it’s been really difficult to get back into television,” she explained, exasperated. “It’s just not for working mums at all.

“When you look into getting back into work, because it’s all contract work you don’t want to take on a contract until you know you’ve got childcare in place, but can’t get childcare in place until you know you’ve got a contract. So it’s really difficult.”

She now believes the film and TV needs a serious overhaul when it comes to hiring, especially with working mums.

“The TV industry is not professionalised. You don’t apply for a job and go through a proper application, it’s all very much who you know and ‘let’s go for a coffee’. It is an interview, but it’s all very informal.”

When a series producer contacted her for a casting role for a new documentary, she was invited along to a coffee shop in MediaCity. Question after question followed about what she planned to do about childcare if she got the job.

Frustrated, she pondered whether she should take it further: “Everybody wants to work in TV, so if you don’t take the job, there’s going to be somebody biting your heels to take it. It just feels really futile to raise it. I think you’re probably put on a blacklist of people who cause too much of a fuss.”

“Needless to say, I didn’t get the job and the person who did get the job didn’t have children. It just really knocks your confidence when you’re trying to get back into work when you are getting asked these questions.”

“We’re going back to the 1950s with women just staying at home”

Reflecting on the state of the broadcast sector when it comes to working mums, Michelle firmly believes “we’re going back to the 1950s with women just staying at home behind the kitchen sink”.

“It’s just going to end up being like that again,” she explained. “It just feels like it’s going really backwards. That’s not just in the creative industry, that’s everywhere.”

Following maternity leave, trying to get back into work knocked the confidence of Lisa Wood, marketing and communications director at Manchester’s software development and data analytics firm Naimuri, too.

During the pandemic, she was pregnant with her second child when she was suddenly made redundant after the company she was working for ceased trading.

“It wasn’t handled the best and I was six months’ pregnant at the time. I just thought ‘what do I do, I have to get on with life’. It was quite difficult to envisage what was going to happen next, the pandemic was in full swing under a hard lockdown. I was pregnant, I didn’t want to stress the baby.”

She started doing bits of freelance work for the likes of industry body the PRCA, until she decided she was ready to start job hunting again. It was then she experienced challenges, with no employer willing to consider part-time work.

“My youngest was getting ready to go to nursery and I just faced such a difficult marketplace. I still think, to this day, there isn’t really a great deal of flexibility out there.”

In most of her previous jobs, such as for Peel at MediaCity, they were “very happy” for her to work three days a week so she assumed she’d be able to find the same again. But that wasn’t the case.

“There just wasn’t anything advertised, there was all this hybrid working and flexibility but actually when you dig deeper, that flexibility means lots of different things to different people.

“I’d have conversations with companies then they would not want to speak to me again. I’d ask if they’d look at roles three days a week but they refused.”

“I’ve faced a lot of hurdles and a lot of upsets. It knocked my confidence. I’d have meetings, phone calls and virtual meetings, get to the final round of interviews, then because I couldn’t commit to five days a week I’d have to drop out or they would say no to me.”

After six months of seemingly dead-end conversations whilst starting to lose hope in finding a part-time flexible job, a role to work three days a week at Naimuri popped up. Twelve months on, she couldn’t be happier.

“I cannot believe that I found the company, it’s an amazing place to work and really supportive. We have a lot of people working part time, a lot more opportunities and I really push that within the business.”

“We’re just missing out”

With the battle for talent, particularly across the creative and tech sector, businesses are missing out on an untapped pool of talent by not offering more flexibility, part-time work or job shares.

“They need to go back to the drawing board with regards to who they’re recruiting and really think about the opportunities that they are advertising,” Lisa explained. “It’s creating those opportunities to explore what is flexibility, what does the working world look like in 2023 going forward? How do people want to work? Delve deeper into that because I think it’s changing constantly.”

Michelle agrees. With ambitions to step up to a series producer role, she found there’s no easy way to progress up the career ladder in the TV industry. She thought she’d finally found a way in when she stumbled across a scheme called Share My Telly Job, which advocates job shares, ideal for working mums and those looking for part-time work.

The founder of the scheme sent an email before Christmas about an in-depth conversation with a production manager “very openly and honestly that TV production companies won’t employ job shares for this role”.

“So many women are leaving and we’re just missing out,” she said. “I don’t think the TV world cares.”

As the cost of living continues to spiral, access to childcare is becoming increasingly difficult and often only part-time roles or job shares are the only option – if they’re available.

“I’m stuck, there is nothing I could do even if I got offered a full-time job. If it was part-time, I might be able to work things out. I have parents nearby that I can rely on for a bit of support but not all the time. It’s just horrendous, I understand why women don’t go back to work because it’s just impossible trying to juggle it all. It’s so stressful.”

Businesses should be forging an inclusive workplace culture, explained Jenny Hinde, executive director at Warrington-based diversity and inclusion consultancy the Clear Company. She explained: “The motherhood penalty, the loss in lifetime earnings for women caring for children, is sadly still a reality for many in our workplaces which is contributing to the UK’s average gender pay gap of 14.9%. 

”The sad reality is that many women today face maternity discrimination. Employers have a real opportunity to initiate meaningful change for women here, and there are some straightforward steps that can be taken to improve conditions.”

Although due to confidentiality she cannot share the stories she hears from her clients, Lo said the marketing sector is one of the top two industries she writes for. 

“People hit a ceiling in the creative industries as a woman. The people I’ve worked with in art direction or television, they just can’t make the hours work alongside being a mother and there’s no wiggle room for them. Anytime I write for creative industries, they’re the types of barriers more so than promotions. They can’t physically get themselves on to that next ring of the ladder.”

It’s all about “creating conversations”, emphasised Lisa. “By just putting a few steps in place and looking at bringing in one part-time employee that’s more of a senior role within the business, you’re challenging the norm and hopefully, that will start to change within the industry.”

For businesses, Jenny believes undertaking a DEI audit can delve into challenges facing women in the workplace. 

“Consider the environment in which women are landing. Is there a need for clear parameters around what is and is not acceptable, are non-inclusive behaviours being addressed? Can women talk openly about motherhood, care obligations, or any other maternity related issues, without fear of being penalised? At the heart of an inclusive culture is acknowledging and managing behaviours that cross the line, whether intentional or not. Be honest that sexism could be an issue. Ask about it, listen out for it and do something about it when it emerges. Do not rely on women to sort it out themselves or, even worse, absorb it and carry on.”

There’s no “one size fits all” when it comes to maternity discrimination, explained Lo, but the important factor is to remember you’re not alone and support is out there, from groups or charities such as Pregnant Then Screwed. 

“There are people out there, reach out, speak to people and do everything you can to arm yourself with the knowledge and tools to change the situation because it is doable,” she explained.

“The stories that I hear from women on a daily basis, upwards of 10 to 15 inquiries every day, the train just doesn’t seem to be slowing. Some of the stories I hear are just bone-chilling from women just trying to go to work. Be as informed as you can, empower yourself as much as possible to take charge of the situation. It’s very difficult. It’s a very lonely place to be, especially with a kid.”