Two employees are on light duty. One is pregnant. One is not. The pregnant woman, however, finds out she’s not getting the same accommodations as her non-pregnant colleague.
What to do about this disparity?
This is how Cranberry Police Officer Tiffani Shaffer detailed the situation she experienced when she became pregnant with her daughter in 2018. She wants her story to be a cautionary tale for her daughter, now 3.
“It's OK to fight for what's right,” and to not be ashamed of your experience, Shaffer said. “I want her to never be ashamed of that because to be perfectly honest, for a while during this process, I felt ashamed. I felt like I did something wrong.”
Who is there to advocate for Shaffer and women like her?
The Women’s Law Project is bringing a new program to Pittsburgh to help pregnant and lactating people in the workplace talk through experiences, identify discrimination and find legal options if needed. The WLP Navigator program launched in Philadelphia in 2017 and has helped over 100 pregnant and lactating clients. Shaffer hopes sharing her story will help other women in similar circumstances know that they are not alone and there are people out there wanting to help and support their journey toward finding justice.
Click below to read the full story from Reporter Emily Sauchelli, an editorial intern for PublicSource, about how WLP is working to educate the public on ways to support people experiencing discrimination.
“Unfortunately, I’ve been discriminated [against] a lot in this industry within Pittsburgh. ...Obviously it’s a problem or else we wouldn’t be wanting to get this.”
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