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"When I first saw two stripes on the pregnancy testing kit, the first thought that hit me was “What if the company forced me to quit my job?. Even before I got pregnant, many of my colleagues asked me when I was planning to get pregnant, and there were many cases of employees who quit due to pregnancy. After 5 long months of contemplation, I finally revealed it to the company. "
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"I contemplated on when I should open up to the company. Would my seat be kept? I only told them after 6 months when I couldn’t hide my pregnant belly. I waited as long as I could because I worried that they would press me to quit."
"All my colleagues and team leaders are men, and I‘ve heard my colleagues ask several times to the team leader to only hire men. This is before I got married. They said it was uncomfortable to work with pregnant women, and they didn’t want their workload to increase when female workers went on maternity leave. How could I possibly open up about my pregnancy in such an environment? I only opened up after 5 months when I was asked to lift a heavy load that I knew I couldn’t handle. They all congratulated me but it was clear they were shocked. I still remember those uncomfortable stares."
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The policy just exists on paper. In reality, our company does not agree with the policy at all.
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I couldn’t cut down my working hours. If I did, the company needed to employ replacement workers but that was never an option for them.
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After 20 weeks of pregnancy, I informed the company and applied for reduced hours. The union in our company kept us up to date on this type of information, so I knew it was in my right to apply for the reduced hours. I think knowing about these policies is important, because I never would have applied for such a thing if I didn’t know about it.
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I didn’t know about the reduced hour policy until I was at the final stage of pregnancy. The company never informed me of such a thing. I couldn’t assert my rights and tried my best to hide the fact that I was pregnant. However, recently I have seen some staff members assert their rights after doing their own research on the policies. It seems like the only way for us to exert our rights in this company is by doing our own research.
" Surprisingly, the HR department had no knowledge on the entire policy. When I asked them why I wasn’t able to receive what was written on the policy, their reply would be that they didn’t know about it. After this, I printed out the policy and strongly suggested that an announcement was made with the information. Only then did the changes come about regarding reduced hours, prenatal screening, and maternity leave payments. I believe that seniors like me have the responsibility to set the right example and fight for our rights in order for future mothers to be protected. "
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The company executives believe that the company shouldn’t do things that are against the law. However team leaders always stress that the company needs to think realistically, and that we need to do what’s right for the company. They always warn us not to assert our pregnancy rights.
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Enjoy your break. I envy you. I also want to go on a vacation. I received many reactions such as these that insinuate that I was going on a holiday. Every time I received one of these reactions, I felt like a line was being drawn between me and the rest of my colleagues. Even when people come back from maternity leave, the first response they get is “Did you enjoy your break?”.
" Female workers who got pregnant or gave birth received a low grade during performance evaluation. Their grades would generally be C or D because they contributed less to the team. It was the same for me as well. I believe that it is only fair that they do the evaluation after considering each individual’s circumstances, but they don’t seem to think that way at all. I still believe that performance evaluations need to reflect the individual’s situation and circumstances at the given time. "
" Why can’t they understand that I come to work for my own self-development? Everyone seems to think that the reason I work is because my husband does not earn enough money. They have this sympathetic look in their eyes when they look at me, and it’s so frustrating."