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Pregnancy discrimination: a tale as old as time.But it’s still happening - right under your nose.
The truth is - ❗️You’re mismanaging pregnant women at work.BUT, you think you're being helpful and supportive.
Because modern discrimination hides in process.
In silence.
In
“just wait and see how she gets on.”Here’s what we see in businesses every week:↳ You delay promotion discussions
“until she’s back and settled”↳ You exclude her from key meetings - just in case it’s too much
↳ You stop investing in her development the moment she announces the news
↳ You don’t invite her to networking events, site visits, leadership lunches
↳ You give her
“lighter duties” without ever asking what she wants
↳ You assume she won’t return full-time, so you plan around her exit
None of this is written.
None of it is reviewed.
And yet - it’s everywhere.
This happened to me.
I was offered a
promotion to HR Director.Confirmed. Handshake. Verbal sign-off.
Then I announced I was pregnant.
And the opportunity disappeared.
No conversation.
No explanation.
Just silence.
A few months later, the company went into liquidation while I was on maternity leave.
They didn’t even tell me.
And still—people think discrimination only happens when it’s said out loud.
Pregnancy discrimination isn’t always malicious.
But it’s always costly.
Costly to morale.
To retention.
To your legal risk.
To your culture.
Here’s what we advise our clients to do:➊ Treat pregnant women as professionals, not passengers – consult, don’t decide for them
➋ Track equity of opportunity before, during, and after leave – not just return-to-work support
➌ Audit decision-making patterns – who’s being paused “just for now” and why?
📣 What silent assumptions are shaping the way you treat pregnant employees?
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👋🏽 𝗛𝗶, 𝗜’𝗺 𝗧𝗶𝗻𝗮, 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗥 𝗛𝗮𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁.
𝗜’𝗺 𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗥 𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀, 𝘁𝗼𝗼.
𝗪𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝘅 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗥 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴.
𝗠𝘆 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗱 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽—𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲.
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