New data shows thousands of women in Britain are holding back on their careers after telling their bosses they are undergoing fertility treatment.
Among those who describe the unfair treatment she faces in the workplace today is a woman whose IVF treatment was likened by her boss to “breast surgery” who then demanded her partner’s sperm count.
Campaign group Zwanger Dan Geschroefd publishes study results I This shows that one in four women undergoing fertility treatments such as IVF have experienced discrimination in the workplace.
Many said it hurt their careers, and even those who went through the heartache of losing a child faced injustice in the workplace: 22 percent who shared their pregnancy loss with their bosses said they were treated unfairly as a result.
Fran, 34, from Cheshire, was working for an information rights organization when she underwent IVF, which resulted in her son, who is now two years old.
She said I: “Naively, from the very beginning I was very open to IVF in my workplace, realizing that the treatment would take a huge toll on my physical and mental health.
“Their whole approach to IVF was despicable and they basically considered it the same as cosmetic surgery.
“My employee told me that the company doesn’t have an IVF policy, said it ‘looks like breast surgery’ and that I would have to take part of my annual leave to visit the hospital.”
She believed her company was confusing elective procedures—procedures that are scheduled ahead of time because there is no medical emergency—with cosmetic surgery, where someone opts for surgery or a procedure to change their appearance for cosmetic rather than medical reasons.
“People don’t forget or realize that someone who is just starting IVF has suffered heartache for several years trying to conceive, even before they started injecting drugs. Many women may have had a miscarriage before they got to this point.
In the end, Fran, who requested that her last name not be released, used a combination of her annual leave, unpaid leave, and compassionate leave for IVF appointments and procedures.
But it was reported that she had to take time off for invasive medical procedures and was told she was “playing with the system” because she wasn’t exactly sure when her doctor appointments would be.
She said: “Obviously IVF relies heavily on a woman’s often unpredictable menstrual cycle, but they just didn’t get it and thought I was lying.
“It led to me forcing myself to go to work despite knowing all about fertility drugs and making mistakes on important issues.
“Then I was told that I was violating company policy by making myself feel bad.”
Fran said she was stunned when her boss called her into his office and asked about her treatment. “She even said, ‘We have every reason to believe you’re lying, how do we even know you’re doing IVF?'” Fran said.
“My manager used every opportunity to talk about my IVF in work negotiations, and it seemed to me that she was constantly interrogating me and trying to get me.
“She asked me for the names of the medications I was taking, the name of the IVF clinic, and asked me to show her where I had injected myself.”
During her performance appraisal, Fran said her boss asked her, “How many sperm does your partner have?”
“I was completely amazed and couldn’t believe she asked me about it,” she said. “I remember thinking, ‘Am I being too sensitive because I find this question very intrusive?’ But when I came home and told my partner about it, he got angry.”
When Fran became pregnant through IVF, she was told not to worry about the promotion as she had “more important things to do”.
Launched at the start of Infertility Week in partnership with Women In Data, Pregnant Then Screwed raises the bar on the level of discrimination women face due to reproductive health issues in the workplace.
It found that only 42 percent of women undergoing fertility treatment told their boss about it, and one in four – 24 percent – said they did not receive support from their employer. Another 24 percent also said they were treated unfairly as a result.
Nearly a third of women who had an abortion as a couple (29 percent) told their employer they had lost a child, and one in five of those women (22 percent) reported being treated unfairly after being discovered.
In contrast, only 6% of partners of pregnant women who told their boss about the loss said they were treated negatively.
When Fran returned to work with her son after maternity leave, she said she felt “left out” and stated that she had to do basic administrative work instead of the work she did before the baby was born.
She added: “My manager would regularly arrange team meetings on the days I was out of the office on a contract and write things like: Team meeting at 8:30 am is not for the tasty moms who run the nursery, I’m afraid. ‘ in email invitations.”
So said Joely Brearley, CEO and founder of Pregnant Then Screwed. I: “Fran’s IVF experience is harrowing, but our research shows that a quarter of women who reveal their IVF history to their boss end up being treated unfairly.
“Asking a woman to explain her partner’s sperm count is an incredible abuse of power and employers need to buckle up and change their behavior when it comes to women’s reproductive health or they will face trial.
“Motherhood doesn’t have to be a career killer. We need to stop punishing women for wanting to get pregnant and have children.”
She added: “We are seeing an increase in calls to our hotline from women who are discriminated against in the workplace due to reproductive health issues.
“The uncertainty of fertility treatments or the unbearable heartache of losing a child can be overwhelming for many women. This pain and emotional trauma is exacerbated by hostile employers who discriminate against women for wanting to have a child.
“Women these days are incredibly vulnerable and need support from their employers, not prejudice.
“And employers should be well aware that this behavior is illegal and can sue them if they are not careful.”
Source: I News
I’m Raymond Molina, a professional writer and journalist with over 5 years of experience in the media industry. I currently work for 24 News Reporters, where I write for the health section of their news website. In my role, I am responsible for researching and writing stories on current health trends and issues. My articles are often seen as thought-provoking pieces that provide valuable insight into the state of society’s wellbeing.