Have You Been Discriminated Against Because You're a Mother?
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Posted September 21st, 2007 by Kristin
Have you ever been denied a job or a promotion because you are a mom? A new study shows that mothers are 79% less likey to be hired than others with equal resumes. Share your story so we can build understanding about why this is so damaging to families and must be stopped. Share your experiences here: If you're on the homepage, then just click the blog title above, or click on the "Read full post" link below to get to the blog page for sharing. Then to share your story, scroll down to the end of this blog--through all of the comments/blog text--to the "Post a Comment" section.
Public Education Discrimination
I recently learned that if I had a job our public school system would allow me to choose which school my child could attend. Stay at home parents are not afforded this opportunity. As a result of this policy high performing schools are overcrowded. We were redistricted to a lower performing school due to this overcrowding but all of our neighbors and teachers remianed at the hgh perfroming school, citing daycare as the reason. The school systme told me to find a job if I wanted to have this school choice option. Is Calvert County Maryland the only area with this problem?
Not a Team Player
As a single parent of a 5 & 7 year old I was told during my quartley review I was not a team player because I was not able to work the "required" 10 hours of overtime we had been asked to work. (my employer won't use the term mandatory, I guess because the term "required" tends to not evoke the same emotional reaction as the word "mandatory")
The overtime was to be worked during a time period that began on 1 Saturday and ended on the following Saturday. (Sundays are not an option because the office is closed). Also, 1 requirement of this overtime was at least 5 hours of it had to be worked on 1 of the Saturdays.
I truly am a single parent. My ex-husband has failed to be a part of our children's lives for over a year and a half now. They have not seen or heard from him and he has made no effort to even find out how they are doing. So, I am responsible for my children's welfare and there is only so much I can do to accomodate overtime requirements when I have to pick up my kids from the sitters by a certain time, or else pay extra for getting them late. The sitter doesn't work on Saturdays, I don't have family that lives close enough to help me out with their care and I can't afford to pay someone to watch them on a weekend.
I am an exempt level employee with my company, therefore, I am not compensated for this required overtime. There hasn't been any financial assistance from my ex.... ever.
Also, being the only parent my children have, the last thing I want to do is spend MORE time away from them.
Needless to say, when I was told I wasn't being a team player and I just needed to "figure something out" that would allow me to work this overtime, I did not take it very well.
Oh, and the thing I really REALLY resent is when my supervisor tells me "she understands" what I'm dealing with because she was a single Mom for a period of time after her divorce from her 1st husband. I know all single parents have added struggles trying to balance their home life with their work life, but what really bothers me is the fact that she thought she could understand what it is like for me in my situation. While she may have had to make some creative arrangements for her kids from time to time, she was mostly inconvienced because she would need to take a few extra minutes on the drive home to pick up her kids from her ex-husbands house instead of the daycare. What I wouldn't do to have an ex who lived close enough and cared enough about our children he was willing to care for them so I could meet work obligations.
My inability to fulfill the O.T. requrements, of course, is also reflected in my annual review. The whole thing just makes me want to scream out of frustration.
no time off have to take my toddler to work.
I have worked for a very small company (8 workers)for about 12 years. the company policy requires you to request vacation a month ahead of time. which i did . but this week the manager was out sick with pneumonia. and even though he will back my boss has told me i cannot go on vacation. that's not the worse of it. since i believed i was on vacation i told my babysitter i would not need her for these two weeks. now i am stuck with no vacation no babysitter and my boss is ORDERING me to bring in my toddler to work, to do my job and the manager's job and he won't hear anything else. the other co-workers have been there 6+ years, so its not like no one knows what has to be done!
is this legal ???? what are my rights? does anyone know.please help.
Breaching Contract and Maternity Leave
I was hired at 15 weeks pregnant and my employer was well aware of the circumstances. Part of my employment agreement and job contract was that I would be employed until it became neccesary to take time off and then I'd have 12 weeks of maternity. I would then return to my teaching position with my child in the class with me. (It was a progressive preschool in the young toddlers classroom). When preparing to return to work and on a visit to the school, my employer informed me that she would not be keeping her agreement and that she did not want me to return to work at the previously agreed upon time.
Unfortunately, I have no protection from the the Family Medical Leave Act due to the small number of employees in a small independently owned and operated school. Based on my new status as a mother, I was discriminated against and lost my job. My employer breached the conditions of my employment. The good news is that I was actually able to afford to become a stay at home mom so I was not facing financial pressures to find a new job.
This is sad...
I have recently found this site and have read many of the articles here, but this one makes me very sad and desperate. I am a 29 year old single mom of a 10 year old. I have worked for the #1 retail pharmacy chain that America trusts for almost 8 years. The first 2 years of my childs life I was lucky enough to be able to stay home while her father worked. He left us and I had to move to an apartment. I work the hours of 8:15 am - 3 pm with no lunch or breaks during the regular school year, during vacation and days off from school , I have to take my child to work and make my child stay in the break room during my shift( I have no family or friends that can help, and daycare is too expensive, even the government childcare). I have no medical insurance because it's too expensive. Management has changed several times during my 8 years with the company and now new management wants me to work 8 am until 6 pm everyday ( 6 days/ week) and/ or travel around the city and leave my permanent store that is very close to my home/school and saves me gas money that I can use to buy food ( we don't get any government assistance) .
I cry almost everyday, I am sad and depressed at this situation. I go to work everyday thinking this might be my last day here because I can't do what they want me to do. What can I do? I live in TX , and here I don't think there is anything I can do...
discrimination is illegal - complain to the EEOC
Even before a suit is necessary, you can and should complain to the EEOC, which can force employers to hire you back, reinstate your pay, your title, etc. That's what the agency is for - use it!
Full-Time or No Job
http://www.workingmother.com/?service=vpage/109
Did any of you read this article? I work for one of the 100 best companies according to Working Mother magazine. I was told by January 2008 that I go from my reduced hour, full-time job (32 hours a week) to a full-time job with no reduced hours (40+ hours a week). I am having to fight to keep my job and my current manager is not speaking to me after I sent the following email on October 9th - all this for only 8 more hours a week!
I sent this email to him:
At this time I cannot agree to work a 40 hour week flex or not. I am willing to carry a blackberry and/or my cell phone at all times (on everyday of the week) and work on demo emergencies when they present themselves along with checking my email on Mondays. Working 32 hours a week has not put any demo at risk nor has it reduced my ability to provide the quality service to our team and the demo consultants.
I would believe that my 9 years (10 in May) years with the company that I am more efficient and can provide what would equate to a new hire's 40+ hour work week in 32 hours. Even when I came to this role after three years in pharmacy implementations, my first year was a complete learning experience as no one in the company does what we do. I was fortunate to gain some experience working on a project while in implementations and able to learn about the entire software application. It took a couple of years in the sales support role before I knew the application intimately and even now I learn something new about the product daily. Not to mention how to operate in a tradeshow environment, the sales process and the relationships/connections I have built within the entire organization. This year also included learning tools outside of the application such as creating and maintaining our sales support webpage along with publishing our first newsletter issue all while maintaining my commitments to our sales support team and the demo consultants.
We have been named one of the best companies for working women because of arrangements like mine. This helps all managers within the company to recruit top caliber talent. By having a part-time member on the team you are representing inclusiveness, one of the growth traits in our company. With a part-time member on the team you are demonstrating inclusiveness and flexibility in schedule and work-life balance. It demonstrates that you are a growth leader.
made to go from salary to hourly
I work for a very well known institution that has a very famous tv event that happens once a year. After I had my child, they allowed me to come back at 80% salaried time to be reviewed yearly. I worked for a year and a half at this level and my boss and his boss were very content with the arrangement.
Recently, I was informed that I had to either come back full-time or go hourly, making less money. I chose hourly so that I could continue having that little bit of extra time with my toddler. Therefore, I will be making less money, working more and was informed that I will receive no vacation the first year because now I have to earn it, even though I've worked here 3 1/2 years.
The reason they are making me choose between full-time or hourly is that they don't want me to "set a precedent." I guess they aren't interested in being a family-friendly workplace.
how about a class acion
how about a class acion lawsuit
Can't even wait tables!!!
I am so frustrated right now looking for a job! I have 2 kids under 3 and need to go to work, it's the reality of our family right now. I've stayed home since my first was born and done freelance design work, but the income is inconsistent and we need a more stable paycheck. So I figure instead of going back to a traditional 8-5 job I'll try to work nights- seems practical, no childcare expenses.
Easier said than done apparently. I've had an interview cancelled last minute saying that they've filled the position already yet the posting continues to pop up on craigslist??? Discrimination? They know I'm a mom-- never once would I have though I had to hide that, now I know better.
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