Australia is having two important conversations about work and the economy, and mothers are central to both.
The first is about productivity. How can we make better use of the skills and experience already in our workforce to lift living standards?
The second is about creating workplaces that work for families. Paid parental leave, accessible early childhood education and flexible workplaces are all essential to these discussions.
But there is another critical piece of the puzzle, and that is more enforceable protections against pregnancy and parental leave discrimination.
Pregnancy discrimination has been unlawful for decades. Women already have legal rights when they become pregnant, take parental leave and return to work. Yet discrimination persists, showing these protections are not creating systemic change.
This is first and foremost an issue of fairness. No woman should lose her job, career opportunities or professional standing because she decides to have a child.
But it is also an economic issue. Debates about workplace flexibility and workers’ rights often focus on the costs to employers. We should also ask what pregnancy discrimination costs Australia.
Increasing women’s workforce participation and productivity could add billions to the economy. Enforcing existing protections for new mothers, must be part of any serious productivity agenda.
Large numbers of women report experiencing discrimination during pregnancy, parental leave or when returning to work.
Many are made redundant while on parental leave, demoted to a less senior role, or told they are not allowed to work flexibly.
Each time this happens, families lose income, businesses lose or fail to use experienced employees properly, and the economy loses valuable skills and expertise.
Why existing rights are failing Australian mothers
As an employment lawyer, I have heard countless stories of women being disadvantaged after announcing a pregnancy, taking parental leave or requesting flexible work.
A woman returns from leave to discover her role has been abolished. Another requests flexibility and is demoted. A previously high-performing employee suddenly finds her performance (or even conduct) called into question after disclosing a pregnancy.
The problem is not simply that discrimination exists. It is that the burden of enforcing the law falls largely on individual women, at a time when they are most vulnerable financially and emotionally.
Rights are of limited value if the people they’re meant to protect cannot enforce them.
Reform one: Give pregnancy discrimination laws real teeth
For any law to deter unlawful conduct, it must carry meaningful consequences for violations.
Compensation awarded in discrimination cases has historically been too low to deter unlawful conduct, particularly for larger employers.
Unless courts significantly increase compensation awards, federal discrimination laws should be amended to include a civil penalty regime.
Penalties serve a different purpose from compensation. They reinforce community expectations, encourage compliance and make clear that discrimination is not simply a cost of doing business. While penalties are available under the Fair Work Act, women must pay their own legal costs even if they win. For most women, this makes pursuing their legal rights uncommercial.
If Australia is serious about reducing pregnancy discrimination, employers who breach the law should face meaningful financial consequences.
Reform two: improve access to justice
A procedural problem also affects how discrimination claims are resolved.
Under the current federal system, individuals must lodge a complaint with the
Australian Human Rights Commission before taking a discrimination claim to court.
The Commission cannot determine liability, award compensation or impose penalties. Its primary role is to conciliate complaints.
The current complaint process is broken.
Unjustifiable delays in processing complaints leave women waiting many months before they can seek a judicial determination of their rights.
For a woman who has lost her job while pregnant, a delay of six months to a year (sometimes more) is devastating. During that time, the baby will be born, savings will be exhausted and her negotiating power erodes. Often, she will have no choice but to abandon her claim altogether.
The very process meant to facilitate justice becomes a significant barrier to it.
The solution is to create a pathway to allow women to take appropriate discrimination claims directly to court and bypass the conciliation process.
Reform three: put information in women’s hands
A further problem is that too much responsibility rests on women to understand and identify their own rights.
A woman should not need to become an expert in workplace law because she is having a child.
When an employee notifies her employer that she is pregnant, the employer should be required by law to provide a clear, standardised statement explaining her workplace rights and the employer’s obligations.
This is a very simple reform, but it would have a meaningful impact.
Even highly educated and experienced professionals can struggle to navigate parental leave, flexible work requests, changes to duties, promotion opportunities, and return-to-work arrangements. Providing clear information at the outset would help employees understand their rights before problems arise.
Just as importantly, it would prompt employers to consider their legal obligations when they matter most.
Protecting working mothers is good for fairness and productivity
Australia has prohibited pregnancy discrimination for decades, yet it remains devastatingly common.
Pregnancy discrimination is wrong. That should be reason enough to act.
But every time a mother is pushed out of the workforce, she is not the only one who loses.
Her family loses income and security. Her employer loses experience, knowledge and talent. And the wider economy loses the contribution she could have made.
We spend a great deal of time asking where Australia’s next productivity gains will come from.
Surely, at least some of the answer is in simply utilising the skills and experience of Australian mothers.
Stronger penalties, faster access to justice and better information about workplace rights are practical reforms that would make a real difference.