WashijaLoyal employee
Whitney was a loyal employee at Walmart so the way they treated her hurt her. She already had children at home which is why she needed her paychecks more than ever now that she was pregnant with another baby. She spoke to her doctor about what had happened at work. The doctor informed her that what her superiors were doing was illegal and she should not agree to it.
A Better Balance
Whitney discovered an organization called “A Better Balance” that advocates for women facing discrimination. The organization guided Whitney on the legal course of action she could take against the company. A Better Balance informed Whitney that she has no less than five lawsuits for pregnancy discrimination against Walmart. People have reported that Whitney was not the only employee of Walmart to face such discrimination, there have been multiple cases similar to hers.
Increasing Cases
Pregnancy discrimination lawsuits in the US have grown by almost 50% in the past 15 years. And this percentage is only for those cases that women manage to be vocal about. It does not account for the numerous amount of cases who are discriminated against for being pregnant but never speak up or file a complaint.
Netflix Employee Fired
Tania Zarak, worked for Netflix since mid-2018 until her boss fired her in December 2018. According to Tania, once she disclosed her pregnancy to her boss, he reduced her role, excluded her from meetings and mocked her appearance. When she raised a complaint with HR, they informed her to go back to her boss and discuss it with him.
The Request
Tania requested her boss for a transfer, she wanted to switch departments. This request was denied by her boss and instead, he fired her from the organization. Netflix gave a statement claiming that they looked into the termination and it was not due to illegal causes and re-emphasized Netflix’s commitment to their employees’ and their families.
Struggle Of Wonder Women
Many working women complain about the issues they encounter at their work once it is disclosed that they are pregnant. This includes actresses as well. Gal Gadot, the actress who was the lead in Wonder Woman was pregnant during the filming of some scenes of her movie. When the actress discovered that she was pregnant, she admitted her hesitation in sharing this news with her coworkers. She was worried she may get judged by people and kept this news a secret for a long time.