EEOC vs. Pregnancy Discrimination: Round One

by Kate D'Amico on March 16, 2012

You may or may not have heard the recent talk about the rising incidences of pregnancy-related discrimination — in fact, pregnancy-related discrimination charges have risen 35% in the last decade, and one in five discrimination charges brought by women is associated with pregnancy. 

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has taken a stand. The EEOC held a public meeting on February 15th to discuss pregnancy discrimination issues. According to the press release:

  • the past 40 years have seen a significant increase in the number of women choosing to work while pregnant and during the later stages of pregnancy
  • women now make up 47% of the U.S. workforce
  • women are now the primary or co-primary breadwinners in nearly 2/3 of families

“Women cannot afford to lose their jobs or income due to pregnancy or childbirth,” said Judith Lichtman, senior advisor for the National Partnership for Women & Families, to the Commission. Since 2001, the EEOC has dealt with 52,000 pregnancy cases that totaled $150.5 million in damage.

“Pregnancy discrimination persists in teh21st century workplace, unnecessarily depriving women of the means to support their families,” said Jacqueline Berrien, chairwoman of the EEOC. A Commission panelist said employers “should not make decisions based on stereotypes and presumptions about the competence and commitment of these workers. EEOC will vigorously enforce the anti-discrimination laws as they apply to pregnant women and caregivers.”

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act was enacted more than 30 years ago to protect pregnant women. Three decades later, pregnancy discrimination is continuing to rise at a time when women are fighting hard to break through the glass ceiling. One professor who spoke at the panel said that there is a quantifiable “motherhood wage penalty” of as much as 5 percent per child, with factors like education and experience controlled.

Clearly, pregnant women and caregivers are not being given equal rights in the workplace; we need better laws, better enforcement of existing laws, and more guidance for employers on how to handle pregnancy in the workplace in a nondiscriminatory fashion.

What do you think of the rise in pregnancy-related discrimination? What can be done to improve the situation?

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  4. A Look At Women In The Workplace [INFOGRAPHIC]
  5. A Gen Y’ers Response to Discrimination Against the Unemployed

Article by Kate D'Amico

Kate D’Amico is in her senior year at Virginia Tech where she is studying communications with an emphasis in public relations, as well as psychology and special events management and marketing. She has prior internship experience in corporate communications and public relations for technology, nonprofit, and association clients.

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