Those stark figures seem to point to one conclusion: even the very first steps towards parenthood are stigmatised for women in the workplace. Is it any wonder, then, that many women are keeping quiet about their fertility treatment for fear of being held back even before they have become pregnant?

This pre-pregnancy discrimination sets the tone for what mothers can expect from their employers. It is merely the start of a very long road filled with patronising assumptions, slights and countless other disadvantages. After IVF prejudice comes the ‘maternal wall’ (the term coined by sociologists to encapsulate how women are held back during pregnancy and motherhood). UK government research carried out in 2016 found that more than three in four mothers (77%) had a “negative or possibly discriminatory experience during pregnancy, maternity leave and/or on return from maternity leave”, while 11% said they felt “forced to leave their job”.

When women are assumed to be less competent because of their caring responsibilities, they often face pay cuts or even demotions; they will likely see their male colleagues promoted above them (research also typically shows that a man’s earnings aren’t penalised when he becomes a father). This ‘motherhood penalty’ helps feed the gender pay gap: according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, by the time a woman’s first child reaches its 12th birthday, her hourly wage lags behind a man’s by 33% on average. Add the UK’s prohibitively costly childcare system (which is thought to be among the most expensive in the developed world) into the mix and the outlook is deeply disheartening. Expensive fees tend to push women, not men, out of the workplace, with a recent survey from the TUC showing that women are seven times more likely to be out of work due to caring commitments.

IVF discrimination in the office is just the start of workplace prejudice against mothers