On coming back from maternity leave, I found that my cover (who had been widely recognised as being fairly incompetent) had been on a nearly £3k more than me. This is pretty galling particularly when I’d finished a large, successful project before I went on mat leave, and little strategic progress was made in my absence. Not surprisingly, my cover was older than me and male.

The organisation I work for has a wide equality and diversity programme, and is running special events for International Women’s day! I feel undervalued, and now have no trust in my employers.