Women suffer from discrimination every day, everywhere, in ways big and small. One major issue is pregnancy discrimination, but the discrimination does not necessarily end once you have given birth.
In fact, it can be when you return to the workplace that the discrimination begins in earnest. It can be conscious or subconscious, but it is there and affecting your life. Here is a look at some top signs of post-pregnancy discrimination.
1. “Reorganization”
Perhaps your work situation was pretty good before pregnancy, but now that you are back in the office, the business has undergone what it calls “reorganization,” and you have a new boss. Funnily enough, no one else seems to have moved, and your new boss is rude, shallow and nitpicky, to name the best qualities. In fact, it almost seems as if your employer made the change to encourage you to quit. And it may well have been. Unfortunately, too many companies associate motherhood with missing work and with less of a commitment to work, and they want to see these employees out.
Other ways in which “reorganization” can occur include you being told you are no longer needed or that your job has been filled.
2. New duties
You may have been able to keep your old position and old boss, but all of a sudden you have new duties. Namely, you are now expected to travel a lot outside of traditional business hours to attend workshops, conferences, meetings, seminars and the like. Since this travel had never been a part of your job before, it is possible that discrimination is occurring.
3. Increased scrutiny and criticism
Another top indicator is an increase in scrutiny and/or criticism. Glowing performance reviews have turned into rants on tiny issues, and your supervisor scolds or yells at you for being a few minutes late when this never happened before, and other employees are able to come in late without comment. Supervisors, perhaps even co-workers, have begun questioning your actions.
Because pregnancy-related discrimination is against the law, you have rights and protection from these types of treatment.