EXCLUSIVE: Joeli Brearley, founder of charity and campaign group Pregnant Then Screwed, will be delivering the closing keynote speech about the motherhood penalty on Thursday 7 October at Employee Benefits Live 2021.
The speech, titled ‘What employers need to know about the motherhood penalty’, will take place at the end of the second day of the conference, and will focus on the challenges faced by working mothers, why employers need to better understand the motherhood penalty and practical take-aways for organisations to consider.
Brearley explained that during her keynote she will be covering her own experience of the motherhood penalty, which Pregnant Then Screwed is trying to work towards ending.
“I will also be discussing how the motherhood penalty prevents mothers from having equal access to the labour market and why that is bad for everyone, especially business leaders, and I will offer some thoughts on what you can do to start to reduce the motherhood penalty in your own organisations,” she said.
The keynote will provide delegates with both an opportunity for high-level, future-focused discourse, as well as practical learnings from Brearley’s own experience.
She commented that she hopes that from her speech attendees will gain a better understanding of why there is a gender pay gap.
“I also hope people will learn about the specific challenges faced by pregnant women and mothers and why it is really important that employers work to support pregnant women and mothers at work,” Brearley added.
Employee Benefits Live 2021 will take place on Wednesday 6 and Thursday 7 October 2021 at The ExCeL London.