Pregnancy / Paternity, Small Law Firms

The Pink Ghetto: Small Law Firms Discriminating Against Pregnant Lawyers

These stories are awful.

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Pregnant woman at work with laptop looking stressedWelcome back to The Pink Ghetto, a series where we take a look at some of the most appalling stories from one of the most sexist industries in the world: the legal profession. Today, we’ll discuss the discrimination pregnant attorneys face at small law firms when the topics of maternity leave or promotion while pregnant are broached. These are real emails that we’ve received from real readers.

When you see things like this happening, say something. Together, we can inspire the change necessary to stop this disturbing behavior from being so prevalent in the law. We owe it to ourselves and future generations.

I am a fourth-year associate at a small firm in the tri-state area. I was told by a partner that the firm would look down upon a pregnancy at this stage in my career because I was up for promotion. He said that a pregnant woman would not be able to handle the everyday rigors of the job. What’s worse is he said there would be no paid maternity leave, as in his experience, most women take advantage of the paid vacation and put in their notice during the last two weeks of their time off.

I am three months pregnant but I am not showing yet. No one here knows I am pregnant. I do not think I want to work at this firm anymore.

I’m a 5th-year associate at a small law firm in the South. I was denied a promotion (which would result in a significant bonus increase) because “it would not be a good financial decision for you because you are pregnant and will be going on maternity leave.” Those were the actual words out of my managing partner’s mouth. No real substantive reason for denying the promotion. I’ve never been so disgusted and disheartened in my life, after having worked so hard to meet and exceed my goals at this firm, only to be denied a promotion based on my pregnancy.

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I’m a junior associate at a smaller firm in the Midwest, and all the partners are extremely religious. I’m from the West Coast and I’m currently five months pregnant. I came here with my boyfriend from law school but we broke up recently. I’ll be a single mother. Not a day passes where a comment isn’t made about the “unfortunate state” I’m in or the “sad predicament” I’ve gotten myself into. I’ve been told that I shouldn’t count on any paid maternity leave… I shouldn’t be “rewarded” by the firm for having a child out of wedlock. WHAT THE FUCK.

Do you have a law school or law firm story you’d like to see appear in The Pink Ghetto? Email me (subject line: “The Pink Ghetto”) or find me on Twitter, @StaciZaretsky. You will be kept anonymous. Submissions are always welcome.

Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky has been an editor at Above the Law since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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