21 PERCENT OF WOMEN ARE AFRAID TO TELL THEIR BOSS THAT THEY ARE PREGNANT

To talk about motherhood and professional life is to talk about many issues and points of view on both aspects. On the one hand, we can talk about benefits that maternity brings in our work performance, how to help us be more organized and improve our productivity.

But on the other hand, it is also to address the not-so-pretty side of being a working mother: there is still a lot of discrimination in the labor field towards those who are mothers. And a sample of this, are the results of a new report about maternity in the work area, because it was found that 21% of women are afraid to tell their boss that they are pregnant.

A few days ago we shared the results of an experiment conducted in Spain, in which maternity was found to be something that companies discriminate against women, and did not even give them the opportunity to have an appointment for a job interview, despite having the same skills and abilities as a man for the same position.

Situations like this one are what make women feel that being a mother is something negative in the world of work, and even a long time ago we were commenting on the results of a survey of women from more than 60 countries, in which it was found that 42% of them fear that starting a family affects their work career.

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Now, a new investigation by Bright Horizons in the United States, in which 2,143 working men and women, with and without children, participated, found that the fear of hearing the news that a child is expected has gone in Increase in recent years. Compared to the same research done five years ago, The number of women who fear to report the news of a pregnancy to their boss had increased from 12% to 21%.

Also, it was found that 65% of women are concerned about the impact that the arrival of children can have on their work careerWell, in many companies, the treatment towards them changes, but not in a positive way.

Motherhood makes better employees

Interestingly, although these fears are definitely a sign that there are things that should be improved, the report It also analyzes the opinion about working mothers, and it turns out that it does not match at all with the fearful feeling of women about having children.

For example, it was found that motherhood provides women with the skills needed to be leaders: 91% of respondents think that working mothers provide unique skills in leadership positions, while 89% think that motherhood makes the best of them within the workplace.

Too, 84% of them think that having mothers in leadership positions can make a more successful business, and 65% of the participants describe working mothers as better listeners than other employees.

Among other things, 51% perceive mothers as people who know how to keep calm better in times of crisis, 47% believe they are more diplomatic and 44% consider them better to work as a team, all this compared to working parents or other employees (men and women) without children.

If they are so good, why is there discrimination against mothers?

The results of this investigation may be contradictory: Most people think that being a mother is something that makes women perform better in the workplace, however, most of them are discriminated against. Why?

Basically, it is about gender stereotypes that continue to be present. Mothers are usually seen as people more inclined towards their family than at work, which suggests that they are not as "reliable" as people without children, or working parents.

For sample, another result of the same investigation: 41% of respondents perceive mothers less committed to their work (compared to those without children) and 38% judge them for needing a more flexible work schedule.

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And this is also reflected in the opposite direction, since one in four mothers admits that their co-workers' perception of her is very important. 19% of them are worried that they do not see her as a leader and 13% are worried that just for being a mother they are not respected.

The results of this investigation not only confirm that There is still a lot of work to do to make mothers feel comfortable and valued in the workplace, but also, we need to continue fighting against gender stereotypes that affect their professional growth.

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Via | Red tricycle