The Pregnancy Penalty

Abstract

It is difficult to know what to expect when you are expecting, particularly in the workplace. A woman may be delighted to share the news of her pregnancy with friends and family, yet approaching that same discussion with her boss is fraught with uncertainty. Numerous career advice websites and articles exist to help expectant mothers navigate this potentially daunting and "anxiety inducing"' discussion.2 The fear, of course, is that if this discussion sours, the consequences may be dire: a strained relationship with the boss, lost future workplace opportunities, unwillingness to accommodate pregnancy-related issues, or termination.

A closer look at the existing evidence on pregnancy discrimination in the workplace, however, may lead to the suspicion that such apprehension is exaggerated, or even unfounded. The existing evidence on pregnancy discrimination relies on anecdote. Accounts from the media and litigated cases form the bases of popular and scholarly discussions,3 making it impossible to decipher whether such accounts are singular or representative. Further undercutting claims of persistent discrimination are two longstanding federal laws that, in theory, should remedy--or at the very least quell-the problem: the 1978 Pregnancy Discrim-ination Act (PDA), which prohibits discrimination "on the basis of pregnancy,"4 and the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of being "substantially limit[ed in] a major life activity."