What is pregnancy discrimination?
Discrimination for women in the workplace has been a common practice since women have been participating. With the ever-growing increase, prejudices in societies are being uncovered slowly. Mother’s Day is celebrated throughout the globe, but in reality, real mothers have to go through a lot just to get money. Pregnancy discrimination is when a person is not employed, her employment is terminated, and her paycheck is cut or generally given mediocre tasks; because that person (women) is or has an intention to be pregnant. For pregnant women, maternal leaves are provided by the government and are the right of every woman, but greedy organizations simply do not follow these laws. The laws for maternity leaves are not very stringent, and in Pakistan, a fine for it is a few hundred rupees.
Reasons for pregnancy discrimination
There are several reasons why this happens, especially in male-dominated societies. The hierarchy is made up mostly by men; that is why the decisions are made by the superiors who carelessly pass laws for women.
- Bias is one of the main reasons. Discrimination against women has been present for centuries. In Pakistani society, women are associated with only household work.
- Fear of losing employees and less productivity. Maternity leave provides women to stay at home and not do work. This can result in a loss in the eyes of superiors.
- Lack of funds and financial assistance to help new mothers is a crucial factor. Some companies think that they cannot afford giving women paid maternity leaves. They cannot even build nurseries for daycares where mothers can put their babies down.
Experiences of expecting women in the workplace
A woman before she is even expecting, may not get employed because of the stigma around women leaving the workforce during pregnancy or after birth. Most women do not choose to tell their colleagues about the news because they think they will respect her less. While giving maternity leave, a woman might receive a termination letter. Some working women are encouraged to delay their marriage and even consider abortions. In desperation to stay on the job, a person, especially women, might have to work for 12 hours a day to show their worth to the bosses. Most middle and lower organization do not even provide maternity leave, so women have to you changed their jobs. In higher organizations and the government sectors, paid maternity leave is given within an appropriate range.
By discussing this issue out in the open, we can work together to solve this problem so that mothers of our nation do not suffer as they are right now.
