Life Meets Work Blog

Is discrimination growing or just the number of women with the courage to step up and file a complaint?

The EEOC received 5,587 complaints of pregnancy-related discrimination in 2007—a 65% increase from 2002.

A study shows the percentage of complaints coming from black and Hispanic women has increased dramatically, but that no one area of the country is any more culpable than another.

We know, of course, that only complaints are measurable.  Plenty of discrimination goes unreported and plenty goes undetected.

And it’s not just pregnant women who are affected.  Even the could-be-expecting-someday women are at risk.

About 75 percent of working women will become pregnant during their careers.   That scares a lot of employers, and some are still reluctant to hire women of child bearing age.

It shocked me the first time someone told me she’d pretty much be expected to quit if she got pregnant—that’s how hostile her work environment was.  But the more I work with Life Meets Work the more stories I hear.  Sadly, the shock is wearing off.

Here’s one women’s story:

“My company is actually scaling back on the availability of part time positions.  At the time that I was hired, about 90% of the buyers were women between the ages of 25 and 45….and since then about half of them have become pregnant or had babies.

The leadership is freaking out and trying to hire more men because they’re afraid of losing their workforce.  Anyway it’s scary for people like me, who want the option of part time (or more flex time) in the future, to see them back-stepping on what’s been previously been available.”

Admittedly, it certainly is a business problem to have too many new parents out on leave at any one time.  But hiring less women is a short-sighted “solution.”

According to one study, 81.5% of women who worked while pregnant with their first child returned to work within a year of giving birth.   Nearly 82% went back to work!  Their absence is a temporary blip, a minor hurdle that can be overcome with cross-training and/or temporary help.

As Liz Ryan says, babies are not going to stop coming.  Keeping women off the team eliminates half the available talent pool.  It’s like saying, “I don’t want the very best for my team.  I only want people who won’t cause a disruption.”

It’s an 8 to 5 day here, 250+ days a year.  Don’t disrupt the schedule.  Just don’t disrupt the schedule.

Posted by Jaime