Pregnancy as a Barrier to Job Status

Marina Soslow is a senior managing director at a manufacturing company. She has worked at the company for 10 years, gradually working her way up to a responsible position.

She would like to win promotion to a top executive position and has recently finished an MBA, which supplements her master's degree in chemical engineering. Several months ago, she found out she was pregnant. She is reluctant to tell her boss, Roy Bond, the division head, because she knows several other women who were eased out of their positions before they gave birth or shortly thereafter.

After a meeting with Roy about a new product, Marina mentions her pregnancy and says that she plans to take a three-month leave of absence after her delivery. She begins describing the plans she has carefully worked out for distributing her work. Roy cuts her short and says, "I knew this was going to happen sooner or later; it always does."

He says this as if a disaster is about to occur. "There's no point in talking about this now. We'll think about it later." Marina can tell that he's very annoyed about what he thinks is going to happen. She can see his wheels spinning and worries about the implications for her. She thinks, "Doesn't Roy know about the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993? Legally, this company has to guarantee my job, but I know he can make it very rough for me."

Questions

1. What advancement barriers is Marina encountering?

2. What should Roy have said when Marina told him she was pregnant?

3. What could Roy do to ensure that Marina's work will be covered during her absence and that taking this time off will not hurt her advancement?

4. What type of organizational changes can be made to benefit Marina and other pregnant women in this organization?