October 12, 2019
\nHi all,
\n 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: <\/p>\n
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).<\/p>\n
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).<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
My story and many others from classmates who experienced the same treatment has been re-lived at almost every MHC 61 reunion ever since.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Welcome to our world, Elizabeth!!<\/p>\n
Did anyone else respond to this?<\/p>\n
Diana<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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 … Continue reading