Fifteen percent of mothers are pushed out of work during or after maternity leave, survey finds
Fifteen percent of mothers in Canada report being dismissed, laid off or having their contracts not renewed during pregnancy, maternity leave or shortly after returning to work. That figure, higher than the UK’s 11%, is one of the findings from the Canadian Maternity Leave Experience Report and Allison Venditti, founder of Moms at Work, thinks in reality the figures are worse.
“It takes a lot to shock me. I’ve been doing this for a while, and I was shocked,” she says. “This is only representative of people who had full time jobs before. So, we know that the actual number of mothers who are experiencing this is much higher.”
The study also found that 26% of women reported reduced earnings after leave, and 25% were denied promotions. Nearly 5% were demoted, and one in six were reassigned undesirable duties upon their return. The fallout isn’t just financial—29% felt pressured to return early, and 27% said employer responses negatively impacted their mental health.
“Being laid off while you have an eight-month-old, for example, puts women in such a financially precarious position,” Venditti says.
The consequences are also eroding women's trust in employers, which doesn't just affect those who have children. The anticipation of such treatment drives high-potential women out of promotion pipelines long before maternity leave is even on the horizon.
According to Venditti, companies often drop the ball in basic communication, with nearly half of those on leave reporting receiving no contact or support during their time away. That isolation becomes a signal to others that they’re replaceable, forgotten, or worse, expendable.
“It's okay to ask people if they want to come to the Christmas party. It's okay to ask them if they want to be contacted during leave,” she says. “It's not okay to just put people out to pasture.”
Venditti points to three changes that can make a real difference. The first: language.
“The question has to shift from ‘are you going to go on leave’ to ‘how long are you going to go on leave,” she says.
This change, especially when applied equally to fathers, helps normalize parental leave for everyone.
Second: modeling from leadership.
“When [Mark Zuckerberg] went on leave, he went loudly; leaders should be showing that they’re taking leave. That makes a huge cultural shift in the organization,” she says.
And third: have a return-to-work plan, as the return process is a critical point where things often fall apart. In fact, 40% of women consider quitting during return from leave, which says more about the work environment than about personal choices, Venditti says.
And yet, organizations continue to focus energy on onboarding new employees while leaving returning mothers to navigate ambiguity and stress alone.
“Graduated return to work is the normal and expected process for injury or disability, and I cannot, for the life of me, figure out why it doesn’t apply to people coming back from a year-long maternity leave,” she says. “It’s how you’re treated during that period that will make or break how a company supports women.”
Still, she’s adamant that change within the workplace is within reach.
“This is totally fixable; there's no excuse. We've all seen it, and we know it doesn't work, so fix it,” she says.
