National Care Service - adult social care: equality evidence review

6. Pregnancy and Maternity

The Equality Act 2010 stipulates that it is against the law to discriminate against someone because of pregnancy or maternity^[77]. This section brings together data and evidence on equality in social care and pregnancy and maternity. Evidence is presented here in relation to the experiences of people who access social care, unpaid carers, and social care workers.

6.1 People who access social care

There is no national data about pregnancy and maternity and social care. However, there is a substantial cohort of women of child-bearing age who are receiving social care, and many of this group are likely to experience pregnancy and maternity. There are 22,710 women aged 18-64 receiving social care in Scotland^[78]. Within the general population, there are around 50 live births per 1,000 women of child-bearing age^[79] in Scotland^[80].

6.2 Unpaid carers

There is no national data about carers and pregnancy and maternity. However, as noted above (see section 2.2), a substantial proportion of unpaid carers are working age women. Almost half (47%) of all carers included in the 2020-2021 Carers Census were female aged 18-64^[81]. The prevalence of unpaid care in young/mid-life women means that it is likely many women will be experiencing pregnancy and maternity alongside undertaking unpaid care.

6.3 Social care workers

There is no national data specifically about pregnancy and maternity and the social care workforce. However, there is a substantial cohort of women of child-bearing age who are employed in the adult social care sector, and many of this group are likely to experience pregnancy and maternity. Analysis of SSSC data shows that there were 58,450 adult social care workers under the age of 44 in 2020, and at least 80% of the overall adult social care workforce were women. In addition, almost half of the adult social care workforce (47%) are on part time contracts and around 5.5% are on zero hours contracts^[82], which may impact on maternity pay.