The question in the headline is an uncomfortable one. It’s meant to be. It is meant to stir feelings. Because that’s exactly what pregnancy discrimination does. It stirs feelings in everyone who has to consider whether a negative recruitment decision or the loss of a job was down to pregnancy or to the “threat” of their having a child.
Pregnancy discrimination is a tangible – and wretched – problem for equality in working life. It is a key form of discrimination associated with ones family situation. Pregnancy discrimination has a significant affect on the employment and career prospects of women and on the family plans of young adults in general. It is also a sign of outmoded attitudes and plain bad management practices.
How does it work?
The way pregnancy discrimination works is simple enough: pregnancy or the knowledge that someone is planning on having a child has an adverse and discriminatory affect on the employment relationship or on decisions taken earlier, at the recruitment stage. The subject has been explored widely, for instance in a doctoral thesis at Jyväskylä University. Päivi Vuorinen-Lampila’s study on graduate employment from 2018 observed that recent female business and technology graduates said they had encountered such gender-based discrimination already at the recruitment phase. At interview, hiring them was seen as an “expensive risk” for private sector employers, and this has had a negative impact on their employment. Pregnancy discrimination is most often found in fixed-term and temporary contracts. In particularly unsavoury cases, fixed-term employment relationships end with the pregnancy, and another person is taken on to perform exactly the same tasks. In the same way, promotions that may already have been discussed can be cancelled, or the employee’s tasks and functions may be switched for others on the grounds of the pregnancy.
Even though pregnancy discrimination is explicitly prohibited in employment equality legislation, it is not easy to defend one’s rights when one’s job or a prospective job opportunity is on the line. The risk of being left unemployed or of being put into an awkward position in the workplace community is very real. Consequently, few such cases go to court. The legal processes are laborious and painful, and employers often use non-disclosure agreements. In such cases the problem is resolved through compensation paid by the employer.
Family-friendly management approaches to the resque
Aside from pregnancy discrimination, there are also other forms of discrimination associated with family leave. For example, one's role in the organisation can be wound down or discontinued during parental leave, a temporary replacement is made permanent, or the employee returns to the workplace to find an empty desk.
The treatment of employees either when pregnant or during family leave is still often associated with ignorance, with outmoded ideas, and above all with lack of competence among executives and line supervisors. Fortunately, it is always possible – and worth the effort – to try to educate management in matters of equality and family-friendly practice.
It goes without saying that pregnancy discrimination is not an indication of a particularly healthy or family-friendly workplace culture. By contrast, in organisations where family-friendly leadership is encouraged, pregnancy and parental leaves are seen as a natural and important part of life. A family-friendly manager does not ask questions about family background or plans at interview and will not terminate a good working relationship on grounds of family leave. Family-friendly management culture sees the parents of young children as no less worthy of being given challenges and opportunities in their work, and starting a family is not an obstacle to anyone’s career prospects.
Pregnancy does not make us suddenly incompetent
While on family leave, an individual often reflects on his or her personal values and alternatives in working life. If a business or organisation wants to hang on to the best expertise, then this is a phase in the employee’s life that should be handled with real care and sensitivity. It can have a significant impact not just on the motivation of key personnel, but also on the organisation’s image as an employer. It is the employer’s responsibility that there are not discriminatory attitudes embedded in the management, that it is the most competent that get chosen for tasks, and that the length of a working relationship is not determined by family leaves.
Also, oftentimes people also learn relevant new skills during their leave, not least through becoming active in networks such as Mothers in Business.
If you suspect discrimination on the grounds of pregnancy or family leave, or if you have experienced such discrimination, contact your union’s legal advice services or the Ombudsman for Equality. You can also contact the Ombudsman anonymously, and guidance is free.
Writer:
Annica Moore,
Executive director of Mothers in Business
Mothers in Business (MiB) is a nationwide network that supports career-oriented mothers in balancing work and family. Our aim is to provide opportunities for skills development, networking and career advancement. Currently, we have over 4000 members and hundreds of volunteers throughout Finland.
