Pregnancy discrimination

Pregnancy discrimination is a type of employment discrimination that occurs when expectant women are fired, not hired, or otherwise discriminated against due to their pregnancy or intention to become pregnant. Common forms of pregnancy discrimination include not being hired due to visible pregnancy or likelihood of becoming pregnant, being fired after informing an employer of one's pregnancy, being fired after maternity leave, and receiving a pay dock due to pregnancy.[1] Pregnancy discrimination may also take the form of denying reasonable accommodations to workers based on pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions.[2] Pregnancy discrimination has also been examined to have an indirect relationship with the decline of a mother's physical and mental health.[3] Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women prohibits dismissal on the grounds of maternity or pregnancy and ensures right to maternity leave or comparable social benefits.[4] The Maternity Protection Convention C 183 proclaims adequate protection for pregnancy as well. Though women have some protection in the United States because of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, it has not completely curbed the incidence of pregnancy discrimination.[1] The Equal Rights Amendment could ensure more robust sex equality ensuring that women and men could both work and have children at the same time.[5]

  1. ^ a b Byron, Reginald; Roscigno, Vincent. (2014). "Relational Power, Legitimation, and Pregnancy Discrimination." Gender & Society 28(3): 435-462. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0891243214523123
  2. ^ "Pregnancy Discrimination | U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission". www.eeoc.gov. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
  3. ^ Hackey, Kaylee; Daniels, Shanna; Paustian-Underdahl, Samantha; Perrewé, Pamela; Mandeville, Ashley; Eaton, Asia (2021). "Examining the effects of perceived pregnancy discrimination on mother and baby health". Journal of Applied Psychology. 106 (5): 774–783. doi:10.1037/apl0000788. PMID 32614204. S2CID 220310505 – via APA PsycNet.
  4. ^ Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, Article 11
  5. ^ Neuwrith, Jessica (2015). Equal Means Equal. New York, Ny: The New Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-1-62097-048-5.