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Discrimination in the Workplace - Non-pregnant Women

July 2, 2007 Most US workers are well aware of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) guidelines regarding pregnant women. In a nutshell, discriminating against pregnant women is illegal. This was familiar territory to me as a former HR Director but a few recent conversations with some female friends and former colleagues got me thinking about another side of this topic. Is there a bias towards women who are happily married and have decided not to have children or those who have waited until later in life to start a family? Consider these two examples:

1.  A 38 year old, married woman named Susan is conducting an interview (she is 3 months pregnant and not “showing”). Upon viewing a family photograph on the Susan’s desk, the female job candidate volunteers that she has two children she had “just under the wire”. The interviewer asks, “What do you mean?” The job candidate explains she is 35 years old and does not believe women should have children past the age of 35. 

2.  A 34 year old, married woman named Ariel is celebrating her birthday having some cake & ice cream with her office mates. A female co-worker approaches Ariel saying, “When are you going to get started?” “Started on what?” she replies. “Having children!” was the response.

Talk about a pregnant pause! Much to my surprise - women were the culprits in both of these examples. Is there some kind of female/female reproductive harassment going on out there?
OK, perhaps I’m overreaching on the harassment angle but I can assure you both of the women in those examples were horrified. Putting temporary embarrassment aside – both of these accomplished women were left to wonder why their personal choices or circumstances were being dragged into focus during the workday.

Clearly, no one has the ability to stop another person from saying or doing anything, but once it happens it’s out there. In these two examples, it seems there are two choices - ignore it or confront it. What do you think Susan and Ariel did? Better yet – what should they have done? Respond to this blog and let me know what you think. Watch this space tomorrow and I’ll share what really happened.

Posted by Gretchen Miller on July 2, 2007 | Comments (4)


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July 3, 2007
In response to: Discrimination in the Workplace - Non-pregnant Women
Bruce commented:

While I don't want to discount this problem entirely, I don't see it being substantively different from awkward and thoughtless workplace comments made on a number of other subjects - politics, religion, and such. Both can create somewhat awkward situations due to differences in personal opinions and values.

My solution for any of the above situations? Deal with it. Neither case shows malicious intent, just a bit of poor judgment. We really shouldn't have an expectation that all our coworkers will share our values and viewpoints, so why would we get so worked up when we see that they do not?




July 3, 2007
In response to: Discrimination in the Workplace - Non-pregnant Women
Gretchen commented:

Thanks for your comment Bruce. Ultimately, the women referenced in this blog did just as you suggested. They dealt with it – assuming no malicious intent as you inferred. I think what sets these awkward comments apart and in particular what struck me was the fact that women made the comments to other women. The lack of tact and sensitivity seemed somehow more intense, more surprising and in the end compelling enough for me to put it out there.




March 9, 2009
In response to: Discrimination in the Workplace - Non-pregnant Women
married female no kids commented:


Right now with what the economy is I am facing discrimination because I'm a married woman. I got laid off from work and now that I'm looking for a new job interviewers are passing me up because like a bimbo I'll mention that I don't need health insurance because I'm on my husband's. A married woman gets passed off because she gets looked at like someone that doesn't need a job as bad as the next unmarried person. They think that my husband can take care of me and I won't be as committed to a job. She's married so she's not planning on staying long with a company, she's most likely going to get pregnant and want to leave to raise the kids.




June 22, 2009
In response to: Discrimination in the Workplace - Non-pregnant Women
chicklet commented:

You are not required to tell them whether or not you need their health insurance.





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