Curious to hear if anyone here has experienced mom-bias in the workplace? Either during tenure at a company or during the interviewing/onboarding processes?
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I am a mom of 2 who has basically had to pretend that I donât have children in order to succeed in this business. I donât talk about them in interviews, I donât mention them to my colleagues, I donât keep pictures on my desk! There is an absolute bias towards young people without families in this industry so that you will work insane hours, travel the globe, and keep work your top priority. Unfortunately, life can pass you by that way, I know plenty of women at the top who never married or had children because they were so focused on their career. I donât regret having kids and have walked away from good jobs several times because my home life was suffering. My career has never hit the pinnacle I wished it had due to walking away from these over-worked jobs. So when you say âmom-biasâ do you mean in favor of??? I think that is absolutely not the case as moms are juggling so much at home and in the workplace (usually you are just hitting your career stride) and there is so much guilt around working a lot. The bias is almost always AGAINST moms.
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100% especially during this pandemic. The first few weeks of quarantine (which was a new experience for all parents) I was told that my 8 month old baby babbling in the background of calls had become âproblematicâ and that I needed to do a better job scheduling meetings around his nap schedule which was all over the place with both me and my husband being home. I was also told to be more professional while working from home with a baby⌠this coming from a company run by a woman who preaches womenâs empowerment.
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Iâm so sorry you had to experience that! Last week I took a zoom meeting at the same time my son and his friend were online learning. The person I was meeting with kept saying to me âit seems you have poor internet connectionâ. I had to tell her that I had two kids working on separate computers in the house and that might have been the reason. I got the âeye rollâ. UnrealâŚ
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Yes âagainstâ moms. I too have had to make choices b/w my career and my family, had to âplay downâ being a mom, and even been passed up for opportunities based on the fact that I had children and others didnât. In 2020 it should not have to be this way!
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Early in my career, I was fired for being 5 months pregnant⌠During my firing, I was told ânow you can stay home with the babyââŚ
At another job, I was told âa woman can never be successful in this field if she has kidsââŚ
A third job, I was written up because the day care center called and told me to pick my daughter up early because she had a feverâŚ
The bias against Moms in this field is sexist and extreme.
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Fabletics / Techstyle. Notorious for firing pregnant women or moms after they return from maternity leave. Have had to pay out!!!
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Hi All!
Iâm a first time mom on maternity leave (4.5 months unpaid) and curious to rehash this topic post-covid. Have any moms here found that with the rise in WFH flexibility and employees proving that they could do much of their work remotely, theyâve found a bit less âmom-biasâ and better work life balance in fashion?
Alternatively, has anyone left fashion entirely and found a more family friendly career track that afforded them a liveable wage and flexibility?
For context, Iâve been entertaining leaving fashion for some time now, but before my leave, I received a title and pay bump from my company of 5 years and it feels tough to walk away from that momentum. My old school company doesnât have any parental leave policies or benefits in place but are fairly understanding for Fashion (but compared to other industries like tech - the benefits are abysmal). Frankly, Iâm tired of feeling apologetic for prioritizing my family/life and I know it could be better.
Would love to hear from original posters and see where youâre all at now! Have you found balance in a fashion career, currently in the trenches or left the industry all together?
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Sorry that you are experiencing this in this day and age. You would think nyc fashion brands would have leaders who where caring and empowering with empathy every else to follow those behaviors but thatâs not the case.
Itâs amazing how many trash people in the fashion industry are out there in privileged corporate roles lack humanity and emotional intelligence
I would hear other women talk about other women when the person was out on maternity, that they werenât sure the new mom would be able to do her job now that she has a baby. This was said in 2024 not 1976 by manager and product director
Unfortunately seems like most the nyc companies have toxic norms like discrimination, harassment, ethics and everyone deals with it, moves on or quits the industry
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