Sage Sociology

GAS: Relational Power, Legitimation, and Pregnancy Discrimination


Listen Later

Pregnancy-based employment discrimination has long been a topic of interest for gender inequality scholars and civil rights agencies. Prior work suggests that employer stereotypes and financial interests leave pregnant women vulnerable to being fired. We still know little, however, about women’s interpretations of their terminations and how employers justify such decisions in the face of arguably protective laws. This article provides much needed, in-depth analyses of such dynamics and a relational account of pregnancy-based employment discrimination claims. Elaborating on theoretical expositions of power and research surrounding the patriarchal character of organizational life, we draw on unique quantitative and qualitative data from verified cases of pregnancy-based firing discrimination. Our analyses reveal a two-pronged legitimation process where employers symbolically vilified pregnant workers while simultaneously amplifying ostensibly meritocratic organizational procedures and concerns. Pregnancy discrimination plaintiffs attempted to counter employer arguments. Yet, their limited power within the organizational hierarchy along with the culturally resonant nature of employer logics—logics that seem gender-neutral but that reify gendered assumptions and prioritize business profit—place pregnant women at a considerable disadvantage. Without attending to such cultural and structural power imbalances and the relational processes that undergird them, pregnancy discrimination will remain a significant problem.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Sage SociologyBy Sage Publications

  • 4.2
  • 4.2
  • 4.2
  • 4.2
  • 4.2

4.2

20 ratings


More shows like Sage Sociology

View all
Democracy Now! Audio by Democracy Now!

Democracy Now! Audio

5,695 Listeners

Arts & Ideas by BBC Radio 4

Arts & Ideas

296 Listeners

Thinking Allowed by BBC Radio 4

Thinking Allowed

308 Listeners

The Audio Long Read by The Guardian

The Audio Long Read

828 Listeners

New Books in Critical Theory by Marshall Poe

New Books in Critical Theory

143 Listeners

Sage Criminology by SAGE Publications Ltd.

Sage Criminology

3 Listeners

Sage Language & Linguistics by SAGE Publications Ltd.

Sage Language & Linguistics

3 Listeners

Sage Nursing and Other Health Specialties by SAGE Publications Ltd.

Sage Nursing and Other Health Specialties

8 Listeners

Sage Nutrition & Dietetics by SAGE Publications Ltd.

Sage Nutrition & Dietetics

2 Listeners

Sage Political Science & International Relations by SAGE Publications Ltd.

Sage Political Science & International Relations

7 Listeners

American Journal of Sports Medicine by SAGE Publications Ltd.

American Journal of Sports Medicine

16 Listeners

Sage Psychology  Psychiatry by SAGE Publications Ltd.

Sage Psychology Psychiatry

21 Listeners

Sage Social Work & Social Policy by SAGE Publications Ltd.

Sage Social Work & Social Policy

2 Listeners

Toxicologic Pathology & Veterinary Science by Sage Publications

Toxicologic Pathology & Veterinary Science

4 Listeners

Reveal by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX

Reveal

8,246 Listeners

The Gray Area with Sean Illing by Vox

The Gray Area with Sean Illing

10,694 Listeners

Code Switch by NPR

Code Switch

14,537 Listeners

Radio Atlantic by The Atlantic

Radio Atlantic

2,319 Listeners

Throughline by NPR

Throughline

16,034 Listeners

Theory & Philosophy by David Guignion

Theory & Philosophy

339 Listeners

Short Wave by NPR

Short Wave

6,259 Listeners

Acid Horizon by Acid Horizon

Acid Horizon

175 Listeners

What's Left of Philosophy by Lillian Cicerchia, Owen Glyn-Williams, Gil Morejón, and William Paris

What's Left of Philosophy

261 Listeners

The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

The Ezra Klein Show

15,237 Listeners