Maternal Profiling

Thanks to the folks at MomsRising.org for calling much-needed attention to workplace discrimination against mothers and would-be mothers with these pretty alarming statistics:

The American Journal of Sociology recently reported a study which found that mothers are 79 percent less likely to be hired than nonmothers with equal résumés and job experiences.

Mothers also face steep wage hits and unequal wages for equal work. One study found that women without children make 90 cents to a man’s dollar, but women with children make only 73 cents to a man’s dollar. And single mothers make about 60 cents to a man’s dollar.

In addition …

A Cornell University study found that mothers were offered $11,000 less in starting pay than nonmothers with the same résumés and job experience, while fathers were offered $6,000 more in starting pay.

That same study also found that mothers were held to harsher work standards than nonmothers and were taken off the management track for reasons that were not justifiable when compared to the behavior of other workers.

The dirty little secret of the American workplace is that maternal profiling is alive and well and has been for a very long time. We just didn’t have words to label this form of discrimination.

So much for gender equity in the workplace. What are your thoughts? Have you ever encountered this kind of bias in academe?

Also see a related discussion on The Chronicle’s forums.