According to the United States Department of Labor, women make up nearly 50% of the workforce, and 85% of working women will become mothers during their careers. The United States Census Bureau reports that women work longer while pregnant and return to work sooner than ever before after childbirth. Studies show that more needs to be done to remedy the positions of female firefighters, female front line workers or temporarily disabled pregnant women in any position with light duty, alternative assignments, disability leave or unpaid leave. If a woman is temporarily unable to perform her job due to a medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth, the employer or other covered entity must treat her in the same way as it treats any other temporarily disabled employee. Yet statistics show that in the last 10 years, more than 50,000 pregnancy discrimination claims were filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Fair Employment Practices Agencies in the United States.
Pregnancy Discrimination In The Workplace
Pregnancy discrimination involves treating a woman (an applicant or employee) unfavorably because of pregnancy, childbirth or a medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) forbids discrimination based on pregnancy when it comes to any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoff, training, fringe benefits, such as leave and health insurance and any other term or condition of employment. Pregnancy discrimination also includes perceived bias when expectant employees experience subtly hostile behaviors such as social isolation, negative stereotyping and negative or rude interpersonal treatment such as lower performance expectations, transferring the pregnant employee to less-desirable shifts or assignments or inappropriate jokes and intrusive comments.
A landmark Baylor University study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology surveyed 252 pregnant employees. The researchers measured perceived pregnancy discrimination, perceived stress, demographics and postpartum depressive symptoms. Other measurements included the babies’ health outcomes, such as gestational age, Apgar score (heart rate, respiration, muscle tone, reflex response and color), birth weight and visits to the doctor. The results showed that pregnancy discrimination has a negative impact on the mother’s and baby’s health. Pregnancy discrimination was linked to increased levels of postpartum depressive symptoms for mothers and lower birth weights, lower gestational ages and increased numbers of doctor visits for babies.
According to the lead researcher, Dr. Kaylee Hackney, “I think the biggest surprise from this research is that pregnancy discrimination not only negatively impacted the mother, but also negatively impacted the baby she was carrying while experiencing the discrimination. This just shows the far-reaching implications of workplace discrimination and highlights the importance of addressing it.”
Steps Expectant Workers Can Take
So what do you do if you feel appropriate accommodations during pregnancy are not made? You can’t fire your boss. You can’t take over the company and restructure it, but you can take a number of other actions.
Steps Managers Can Take
Given the landmark Baylor University study found that pregnancy discrimination led to adverse health outcomes through increased stress, managers are in a unique position to provide the support that pregnant employees need to reduce stress. Here are some steps managers might take:
A Final Word
If you’re a leader of an organization, it’s in your company’s best interest to address your legal responsibilities to expectant workers. If allowed to continue, the toxicity and dissatisfaction will hurt the company’s bottom line. Workplace performance will drop, and the organization’s integrity will be compromised. Minimizing, covering up or turning your head the other way, in effect, creates a toxic culture for all employees. Eventually, the company will become a revolving door for workers, and it will be more difficult to attract and retain talented employees who can always find a mentally healthier and more supportive work environment that makes accommodations for expectant women workers.
References
Grossman, J. L. & Thomas, G. L. (2009). Making Pregnancy Work: Overcoming the Pregnancy Discrimination Act’s Capacity-BasedModel. Yale Journal of Law & Feminism. 15. Available at: https://scholarlycommons.law.hofstra.edu/faculty_scholarship/101
Hackney, K. J. et, al (2020). Examining the effects of perceived pregnancy discrimination on mother and baby health. Journal of Applied Psychology. DOI: 10.1037/apl0000788
I am the author of two novels and 40 nonfiction books, including #CHILL: TURN OFF YOUR JOB AND TURN ON YOUR LIFE (William Morrow) and the long-selling CHAINED TO THE
I am the author of two novels and 40 nonfiction books, including #CHILL: TURN OFF YOUR JOB AND TURN ON YOUR LIFE (William Morrow) and the long-selling CHAINED TO THE DESK: A GUIDEBOOK FOR WORKAHOLICS, THEIR PARTNERS AND CHILDREN, AND THE CLINICIANS WHO TREAT THEM (New York University Press). My books have been translated into fifteen languages. I am Professor Emeritus at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where I conducted the first studies on children of workaholics and the effects of workaholism on marriage. I built my career on the themes of resilience and work/life balance and have lectured throughout the world on work addiction and workplace issues. My research was featured on 20/20, Good Morning America, ABC’s World News Tonight, NBC Nightly News, NBC Universal, The CBS Early Show, CNBC’s The Big Idea and NPR’s Marketplace. I hosted the PBS documentary, Overdoing It: How to Slow Down and Take Care of Yourself. I maintain a private psychotherapy practice in Asheville, NC and reside in the Blue Ridge Mountains with my spouse, three dogs, one cat, several tropical birds, and occasional bears at night.