Women and the Workplace: Pregnancy Discrimination in the United States
Women and the workplace: Pregnancy Discrimination in the United States
I. Abstract
With an increasing number of women entering the workforce, pregnancy discrimination has become a pervasive problem. This paper, which focuses on the United States (US), thus considers the underlying reasons and impacts of this biasness from the perspectives of both employee and employer. It then follows with a study on the legal protections in place to prevent such behaviour. And lastly, it will analyse various ethical issues involved in this unequal treatment of pregnant employees in the workplace using ethical frameworks such as Utilitarianism theory, Kantian Ethics and John Rawls’ Justice as Fairness. These ethical frameworks will help highlight how pregnancy discrimination is morally wrong and in addition, more has to be done to further curb this prejudice.
II. Introduction
Modern society may seem more understanding of our needs and reflective of a shift towards family-work balance, but the increase in the number of cases of pregnancy discrimination in the US tells a different, appalling, tale. According to the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the number of pregnancy discrimination lawsuits increased by about a third over the past decade, from 3,977 in 1997 to 5,797 in 2011. Coupled with the increasing number of women entering in the workforce today at a childbearing age, these figures call for serious concern. Pregnancy discrimination is defined as the unfavourable treatment of a woman because of “pregnancy, childbirth, or a medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth.”
The conflict between pregnant women and the workplace has intensified as more women enter the workforce and take on roles which were previously predominantly held by men. It is estimated that three out of four women are likely, at some point, to be expecting while working and a substantial number of them may already be expecting while applying for jobs. The
I. Abstract
With an increasing number of women entering the workforce, pregnancy discrimination has become a pervasive problem. This paper, which focuses on the United States (US), thus considers the underlying reasons and impacts of this biasness from the perspectives of both employee and employer. It then follows with a study on the legal protections in place to prevent such behaviour. And lastly, it will analyse various ethical issues involved in this unequal treatment of pregnant employees in the workplace using ethical frameworks such as Utilitarianism theory, Kantian Ethics and John Rawls’ Justice as Fairness. These ethical frameworks will help highlight how pregnancy discrimination is morally wrong and in addition, more has to be done to further curb this prejudice.
II. Introduction
Modern society may seem more understanding of our needs and reflective of a shift towards family-work balance, but the increase in the number of cases of pregnancy discrimination in the US tells a different, appalling, tale. According to the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the number of pregnancy discrimination lawsuits increased by about a third over the past decade, from 3,977 in 1997 to 5,797 in 2011. Coupled with the increasing number of women entering in the workforce today at a childbearing age, these figures call for serious concern. Pregnancy discrimination is defined as the unfavourable treatment of a woman because of “pregnancy, childbirth, or a medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth.”
The conflict between pregnant women and the workplace has intensified as more women enter the workforce and take on roles which were previously predominantly held by men. It is estimated that three out of four women are likely, at some point, to be expecting while working and a substantial number of them may already be expecting while applying for jobs. The