Maternity discrimination is real, and we should be praising Warren for speaking out about it. We should believe her.

In the US, research suggests that 11% of women – or one in nine mothers – were fired or “made compulsorily redundant” because they were pregnant. That percentage could number as many as 54,000 women who have lost their jobs on account of maternity discrimination, a figure on par with recent statistics in the UK.

What’s more, one in five mothers in the US have revealed that they have experienced harassment or negative comments in relation to their pregnancy or requests for flexible working. Some 10% of women stated that their employers expressly discouraged them from attending necessary doctor’s appointments and antenatal services. Recently, five women spoke to Stylist about their shocking experiences of maternity discrimination at work.

Elizabeth Warren deserves praise for speaking out on the huge global issue of maternity discrimination