I can't imagine what it's like to be pregnant, though I do feel like I'm carrying around some extra weight in the belly that, unfortunately, doesn't go away after nine months. However, I can imagine how frustrating it must be for pregnant women trying to make a living, based on a recent study by George Mason and Rice Universities. The results showed that employers still have a lot of prejudices about pregnant women and their contributions.
Some of the prevailing attitudes demonstrated in the results were quite offensive. It seems that many people are worried about having to put up with a pregnant woman's complaining, not to mention the fact that they're going to have to do her job.
What nonsense. First, I've never known pregnant women in the workplace to complain any more than anyone else in the company. Secondly, I believe that we should all do the job we're able to do. If a pregnant colleague, in the latter part of her pregnancy, can no longer perform her typical duties at the office, perhaps there are other things she can do before going on maternity leave.
Given that these results were published by American universities, it makes me laugh: the US barely has a legitimate maternity leave. What? Are people worried about how they'll manage for a week or two? I exaggerate, but women traditionally hav far less time off in the US than in other nations.
So instead of looking at pregnant women as burden in the workplace, it's time to see how they can assume a different role for a limited time. No one has to work more, just more intelligently.