Mum, You’re Fired! campaign shreds CVs to expose motherhood penalty

Mothers’ careers are being shredded – literally.

Today, advocacy group Pregnant Then Screwed, alongside a team of creative parents, launched ‘The Career Shredder’, a bold campaign highlighting the worsening motherhood penalty in the UK.

With 74,000 mothers a year facing discrimination when pregnant, on maternity leave, or returning to work, the campaign brings the issue to life with a giant, live-streamed CV shredder.

The stunt is displayed on Westfield’s Ocean Outdoor billboard and at careershredder.com, where supporters can ‘shred’ their CVs via LinkedIn to raise awareness.

Timed with The Apprentice’s airing, posters across the UK will read: “Mum, you’re fired.” Meanwhile, real women’s stories will hit print media and major podcasts, exposing a 37% rise in workplace discrimination since 2016.

With legal action out of reach for 98% of affected women, this campaign ensures their voices won’t be ignored.

Gemma Phillips, the Creative Director behind the stunt, comments, “Pregnancy and maternity discrimination not only destroys the confidence of hundreds of thousands of women, it costs the economy severely too – it just doesn’t make business sense. With recent conversations about returning to the office and the role back of D&I initiatives, this campaign lands at a really interesting time in the world of work. Career Shredder not only sheds light on this huge waste of talent but importantly provides ways to stop it”

Campaign credits:

Creative Director: Gemma Phillips
Creatives: Sam Sword, Harry Osborne, Gemma Phillips
PR: Celia Venables, Shoutybear Ltd
Production Company: The 5Gs
Exec Producer: Emma Jackson The 5Gs
Executive Creative Director The 5Gs: Greg Furber
Technical Director The 5Gs: Oliver Kibblewhite
Shoot Studio: Rising Tide Studio, Devon
Designers: Kerry Roper, Harry Osborne
Motion design: Neal Coghlan, Ben White
Media support: Ocean Outdoor, Clear Channel, Mindshare, ACAST
Videography: Sliced Studio
Photography: Jenna Hinton
Website Partner: Inqvine
Sound studio: Strings and Tins
Print support: Candy & Co

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