The number of women who lose their jobs for getting pregnant has almost doubled in the last 10 years.
A key problem is that women are not aware of their rights and Government legislation is completely outdated.
Become a founding member of Pregnant Then Screwed and ensure we can provide free legal advice and peer to peer support to any pregnant woman or new mum who needs it. We will help mums access the justice they deserve and we will launch two new campaigns which will challenge outdated Government legislation.
Pregnant women and new mums are being sacked, made redundant, demoted, bullied or harrassed because they dared to want both a family and a career.
Pregnant then Screwed was set up 2 years ago to document the experiences of mothers who suffer pregnancy or maternity discrimination. Joeli Brearley created the project after she was sacked by her employer when she was 4 months pregnant. Since then, supported by a capable and passionate team of volunteers, we have collected over 600 stories, we have launched a free legal advice line, we have piloted a mentor scheme for women going through an employment tribunal, we have received an overwhelming amount of national press and media coverage, and we have created campaigns which are being discussed at Westminster.
We want to do more.
We are now at the point where we are unable to protect and support all the women who need us, without some help to cover some of our core costs. We need resources so that we can launch two new campaigns which will promote the rights of mums and we need funds so we can take our #Givemesix campaign to the next level.
Until now the project has been managed by a small group of volunteers. We want Pregnant Then Screwed to be around for the long-term.
Despite it being illegal to discriminate against pregnant women and those on maternity leave, it is clear that the problem is huge and many working mums feel unable to tackle discriminatory behaviour. Pregnant Then Screwed offers women a platform to tell their story, and gives them an opportunity to access free advice and friendship at this difficult timel. If we want women to be enabled to have both children and a career then we need organisations like Pregnant Then Screwed
Helen Skelton
With your help we can assist thousands of women to access justice and rebuild their lives. We will do this by:
- Offering free legal advice to women 24/7
- Working with NHS midwifery units and local doulas to signpost pregnant women to our free legal advice line.
- Growing our mentor programme which offers peer to peer support to women who are taking legal action against an employer. Currently less than 1% of discrimination victims raise a tribunal claim. This is, in part, due to stress. Our mentor scheme helps reduce stress and it empowers victims.
We will promote the rights of working mothers and build our community so that together we can demand recognition, respect and change. We will do this by:
- Finding more women who are prepared to tell their story to the media and offering them media training
- We will launch 2 new specific and targeted campaigns which will promote the rights of mothers. This following the success of our #Givemesix campaign to extend the tribunal time limit, which has received over 50,000 signatures, was raised in Westminster and has been tabled as an Early Day Motion sponsored by MPs from 7 political parties
In total, we expect to support 2,500 women over the coming 12 months.
Solving Pregnancy and maternity discrimination is worth millions to the UK economy.
Jess Phillips
The Pregnant Then Screwed team are a group of people who care deeply about this issue. Many of us have been victims of pregnancy or maternity discrimination. Our team consists of employment lawyers, communication specialists, campaigners and political experts, and we are spread across the UK.
Joeli and the team at “Pregnant then screwed” are a formidable force for social justice , exposing the blatant discrimination that thousands of pregnant women workers still face day to day.
Angela Rayner MP, Shadow Minister for Education
This money will give us the time and resources to become a fully-fledged organisation. So far we have achieved an enormous amount and helped over 1000 victims of discrimination through passion, dedication and good will. We have managed to achieve this while holding down jobs and caring for young children. The number of women who need our help has now become unmanageable without resources and a paid member of staff.
Become a founding member of Pregnant Then Screwed and show the world that you care about equality at work. Together we will show the Government and the UK that working mothers are important and that we demand respect.
Our priority is to have someone who can lead on our campaigning and coordinate our current activity and we need £12,000 to do this. Our stretch goal is £17,000 to include some basic resources which will help us achieve even more
Cost breakdown
£12,000 Will pay for a brilliant campaigner to coordinate and launch our next two campaigns and someone to manage all Pregnant Then Screwed activity for 6 months
Stretch goal - £17,000
£1,000 Will cover general running costs including the website for 6 months
£2,000 Will pay mentor expenses for 6 months
£2,000 Will pay travel and accommodation for the founder, staff and volunteers for 6 months so we are able to meet with key influencers and hold team meetings to generate new campaign concepts and ideas
Testimonial: ‘’Thank you so much for setting this up - your support has been invaluable to me during this time’’
We would love you to join our community of people who are demanding change. Please follow us on Twitter @pregnantscrewed or join us on Facebook. Sign our #Givemesix campaign or write to your MP and ask them to support EDM 1084. Read the stories of other mums or tell us your story. Because with your support, we can create change.