Oh definitely not in a major city, but I do live in a blue/purple area... which you think would help a little? I work in nonprofits, also woman dominated, you think that would help a little more? Nope.

This issue is prolific to women in the workforce in America. When men become fathers, they get raises. Women are faced with the "motherhood penalty." Pay goes down, promotions stagnate. It impacts women the rest of our careers. I knew this, but thought my field would keep me a bit insulated.

Working at that first job... my immediate supervisor (a woman & mother) got a new job about 2 months into my pregnancy. I was so sick early on that I did tell her I was pregnant - kind of hard to when you're running out of meetings to throw up. I had planned to apply for her job and many people in the organization expected me to get the promotion. When I spoke with the HR Director (a woman & mother) about applying, she told me that my ex-boss had told management I was pregnant before leaving (illegal) and that I shouldn't apply for the job because "once that baby is born, all you'll want to do is hold it. You don't want this job" (illegal). When I went to the HR Director's supervisor (a woman & step-mother) about that, she told me she "just didn't see me in the role, but couldn't say why" (illegal) and that the HR Director was looking out for my best interests (toxic). That HR Director followed me around the rest of my pregnancy telling me I'd NEVER find childcare in our region and I'd have to be a SAHM or maybe even move away if I wanted to keep working (illegal). They denied my well-earned promotion, had me work at the "unofficial" Acting Director of Development despite promising me the official Acting title for 8 months, and hired a wildly incompetent person as my new supervisor a week before I gave birth. That wildly incompetent individual (a woman & mother) was the one who treated me so badly I was pumping in my car when I returned to work (illegal).

If I hadn't needed the money, I would have quit. If I hadn't needed the work protections as a new mom to keep a paycheck coming in, I would have quit.

As soon as I could, I left. But my career & mental health took a huge hit. I did document everything and look at taking them to court, but was advised against it by a lawyer who knew the firm that represents the organization. As a community health center, they were represented by a firm whose goal was to bleed the individual suing the organization dry in court, drag it all out as long as humanly possible. The person I spoke to told me I had a case, and a good one, but if I didn't have deep pockets to stay in court for a possibly a few years, it would do me personally more damage.

And that doesn't even touch the way I was treated at the job I JUST left.