Your Pregnancy, Your Career and the Recession
How to have your bundle of joy and keep your career on track at the same time.
May 7, 2009 — -- Katy Rank Lev wasn't sure how or when to tell her employer she was pregnant.
A part-time instructor at the University of Pittsburgh, the 27-year-old didn't want her pregnancy to dictate whether the school renewed her annual teaching contract. She also worried that the sour economy and the university's recent hiring freeze on full-time faculty might not bode well for her.
"I really had no idea how to navigate work and being pregnant," said Rank Lev, who's now 30 weeks along and, as luck would have it, is due during her school's summer break.
So she waited. And waited. Until one day, a coworker asked if Rank Lev had some news to share after seeing her "waddling up the stairs."
Rank Lev isn't alone in her fear of telling her employer about her pregnancy, especially in today's miserable job market. Check out any online community of new moms and you'll find dozens of similar stories.
Sure, there are laws that prevent employers from canning a female employee simply because she decided to breed.
But throw a baby bottle and you're bound to hit an expectant mom or a new one who found the timing of her pink-slip a tad suspicious. In fact, pregnancy discrimination charges filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) have increased by almost 50 percent in the past decade, with 6,285 charges filed in 2008.
You can't predict how management will react to the news of your imminent parenthood. But if you want to hold onto your job, there's a lot you can do to convince your boss that you'll still willing to pull your weight -- now, and once that bundle of joy arrives.
