Inquiry5

The Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee undertook an inquiry into pregnancy, maternity and work.

Terms of Reference:
The terms of reference for the inquiry were to consider:

• How the Welsh Government is taking action on the findings of the Equality and Human Rights Commission review into pregnancy and maternity discrimination;
• How the Welsh Government is working towards its strategic equality objective of “identifying and reducing the causes of employment, skills and pay inequalities related to gender”, particularly in relation to pregnancy and maternity;
• The extent to which the Welsh Government’s Economic Action Plan and employability programmes address issues faced by mothers;
• Whether the new childcare offer is matched with targeted support for mothers to enter or return to work, and
• The extent of pregnancy and maternity discrimination in Welsh public sector (and variances between difference groups of women), and examples of good practice.

Evidence gathering

In order to inform the work of the Committee, the Committee held a series of oral evidence sessions and a public consultation. Details of the oral evidence sessions can be found on the ‘meeting tab’ above.

Report

The Committee published its report: Work it out - parenting and employment in Wales in July 2018.

On publication of the report, John Griffiths AM, Chair of the Committee said:

“Preventing a large proportion of the population from contributing their skills and experience to the workforce is not fair and does not make economic sense. In light of technological, social and economic changes, now is the time to modernise workplaces so that they are fit for the future for everyone, not just parents.”

A shorter ‘Spark’ report has also been published, read it here.

The Welsh Government laid its response to the report in September 2018. The report and government response was debated in Plenary on 26 September 2018.