Pregnant - not brain dead
The most interesting motion for me so far has been 161; discrimination against pregnant women.
Female journalists are not the only ones affected by this issue. It is fast becoming an epidemic in the business sector. According to the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) unless something is done to reverse the trend: "One million women will suffer from pregnancy discrimination over the next five years".
There have been extensive reports in the past about the challenges of a working mother and this new development makes matters worse for the working women who also want a family. Is it now a crime to be a working woman who also wants a child? An EOC investigation found that: "More than seven out of ten pregnant women are treated unfairly at work and they are suffering in silence". It is estimated that women who are sacked because they are pregnant are loosing out on their share of £12 million in statutory pay every year, and it cost employers £126 million each year to fill their positions.
It has been an interesting debate at ADM and one motion that received huge support because of the negative experiences of female NUJ members who worked while pregnant. The argument, of course, is that pregnancy does not hinder a woman from doing her job.
She is pregnant - not brain dead.
Pregnant women may need more support while they are still at work, but they mustn't be punished. There are women who work all the way through their pregnancy; most notably the well-known athlete Marion Jones trained with her team mates right up to the end of her pregnancy.
The possibility that, as a woman, you may lose your job if you become pregnant is quite scary to comprehend. As a woman and a student journalist, I am concerned because I don't want to lose my job in the future if I decided to have a baby and raise a family.
There is an issue to be tackled and the only way forward is to become a collective voice. It's not only the women that are affected; her family will also be affected by her loss of income. It's time to fight the epidemic that has crept into our workplaces.
Female journalists are not the only ones affected by this issue. It is fast becoming an epidemic in the business sector. According to the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) unless something is done to reverse the trend: "One million women will suffer from pregnancy discrimination over the next five years".
There have been extensive reports in the past about the challenges of a working mother and this new development makes matters worse for the working women who also want a family. Is it now a crime to be a working woman who also wants a child? An EOC investigation found that: "More than seven out of ten pregnant women are treated unfairly at work and they are suffering in silence". It is estimated that women who are sacked because they are pregnant are loosing out on their share of £12 million in statutory pay every year, and it cost employers £126 million each year to fill their positions.
It has been an interesting debate at ADM and one motion that received huge support because of the negative experiences of female NUJ members who worked while pregnant. The argument, of course, is that pregnancy does not hinder a woman from doing her job.
She is pregnant - not brain dead.
Pregnant women may need more support while they are still at work, but they mustn't be punished. There are women who work all the way through their pregnancy; most notably the well-known athlete Marion Jones trained with her team mates right up to the end of her pregnancy.
The possibility that, as a woman, you may lose your job if you become pregnant is quite scary to comprehend. As a woman and a student journalist, I am concerned because I don't want to lose my job in the future if I decided to have a baby and raise a family.
There is an issue to be tackled and the only way forward is to become a collective voice. It's not only the women that are affected; her family will also be affected by her loss of income. It's time to fight the epidemic that has crept into our workplaces.
posted by Belinda Otas at
2:39 pm
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