October 12, 2019
Hi all,
In response to an email from EW detailing her firing from a teaching job when she became pregnant, which you probably also received – I submitted the following:
As a recently married 1961 graduate of Mount Holyoke College with a BA in Economics, I was delighted to be offered a job with First National Bank of New York (now Citibank). I began my job in the Pension Trust Department as some sort of an administrative assistant, working for an all-male group of junior executives (some of whom were recent grads of Ivy League equivalents of MHC).
Oops, I got pregnant. At about 5 months into my pregnancy when I was starting to “show”, I was called into the HR office and told my employment would be terminated the next week, (after I confirmed my due date).
Being an Uncommon Woman from Mount Holyoke (see below), my next stop was the local Unemployment Office, where I was met with derisive sarcasm. Who would hire a woman, who would only work a few months before giving birth? they asked. No unemployment benefits for you, my girl!! At that time, there were no laws protecting the employments rights of pregnant women, obviously.
My story and many others from classmates who experienced the same treatment has been re-lived at almost every MHC 61 reunion ever since.
The reference to Uncommon Women originated with Richard Glenn Gettell, the new President of MHC in his welcoming address to our class. The phrase became a more common reference when Wendy Wasserstein, a MHC grad whose play The Heidi Chronicles became a Broadway hit in the 90’s.
Welcome to our world, Elizabeth!!
Did anyone else respond to this?
Diana
