Pregnancy Discrimination in the American Workplace

The Persistent Issue of Discrimination

American business has spent years trying to become more welcoming and advanced to women. But these advances haven’t changed a single thing; it doesn’t matter where their work but how their work. When a woman gets pregnant, they are dropped down the work scale. Throughout the American workplace and public communication, pregnancy discrimination remains widespread. Discrimination can start as a woman is showing and often lasts after the baby is born. Women are affected by almost everyone they come in contact with socially, mentally, and physically.

Workplace Challenges for Pregnant Women

Getting pregnant is a huge downfall because even asking to get water or taking a break can be a risk of being potentially fired (New York Times), especially in jobs where people are needed to lift boxes or carry certain objects. Women need These Extra advantages because it can be a risk of harming themselves or, even worse, harming the baby. Years of medical research have established a connection between demanding work and fetal death. Researchers say that it’s impossible to create a study that only focuses on the impact of heavy lifting vs. other risk factors. People in higher positions, such as corporate, need to know that these effects can eventually get them to get sued in the process. In corporate, the discrimination tends to be more subtle, but pregnant women and mothers are often looked at as less committed, not being able to do certain assignments, and being removed from client meetings.

Economic Implications of Pregnancy

Every time a woman has a child while she has a job, it takes a big chunk off their wage, according to New York Times. Men’s earnings increase when they become fathers. A large number of women decide to step down from their careers and become full-time parents. Some spend all their time on parenthood. Some parents can’t even afford child care. But for the ones that can and want to stay at the same job level, getting pregnant often comes with a major setback.

Legal Battles Over Pregnancy Discrimination

The number of pregnancy discrimination claims filed has been rising for two decades. A federal appeals court wayed on Stephanie Hicks’s side; she sued her hometown police department for pregnancy discrimination (New York Times). Ms. Hicks was lactating, so she went to her doctor, and he told her that the bulletproof vest she was wearing was too tight and could cause a breast infection, so she told the boss. Her boss’s solution was a vest that was so loose it left her stomach exposed. The PDA covers discrimination in pregnancy or childbirth. They expressed that these measures her boss took were unlawful sex discrimination.” Employers may not fire, refuse to hire, or discriminate against women on the basis of their pregnancy or pregnancy-related condition (New York Times).”

Thousands of women have used legal action against pregnancy discrimination at companies such as Walmart, AT&T, and Wholefoods. This was very inspiring to a lot of women of the “pregnancy-discrimination cause” It was used to bring people together. However, it shows how often pregnancy discrimination still happens in real-life jobs.

Historical Overview of Pregnancy Discrimination

Throughout the 1970s, women racked up their share of the American workforce to a rate of some 40% of pregnancy discrimination cases. Under federal law, companies don’t have to adjust pregnant women’s jobs. Many pregnant women have been sidelined in the workplace. They’re passed over for promotions and raises. They’re fired when they complain. These should be fixed. Women shouldn’t be facing such a struggle for a job they do to provide for themselves and their growing families.