Why pregnancy in the workplace is still a challenge—and what companies can do about it

Jenna Vassallo

Oct 28, 2024

Pregnancy in the workplace is often perceived as a barrier to career advancement for women.

But does it have to be?

Stephanie Kramer, CHRO of L’Oréal, researched the intersection of career and motherhood, focusing on four key areas:

Experiences of pregnant women working full-time: How pregnancy affected their confidence, career perceptions and experiences at work
Perception of parenthood among college-aged individuals: How college-aged individuals perceive parenthood and if it impacts their career/major choices
Conception and its impact on careers: How trying to conceive influenced women’s careers and work decisions
Perception of parents as assets in the workplace: How parents and non-parents view parents in the workplace

She shared key findings in her book, Carry Strong: An Empowered Approach to Navigating Pregnancy and Work, which offers a fresh perspective about how organizations can better support employees through pregnancy and parenthood.

Her research shed light on a critical topic for HR professionals: creating a workplace culture that supports parents. It isn’t just about policy; it’s about reshaping perceptions, strong communication and promoting a culture without bias.

We spoke with Stephanie about the key takeaways from her research and why they matter for businesses, sharing actionable tips for HR leaders to implement at their organizations:

EPISODE 29

The False Tradeoff

An empowered approach to navigating pregnancy & work

Listen to the episode

1. Change the narrative: From career setback to opportunity

Stephanie emphasized that pregnancy should not be seen as a career setback, but as an opportunity for growth. Her research showed that many women felt more confident as working mothers, especially around the one-year mark. Many felt that knowing this in advance could have helped them navigate early uncertainties more easily.

HR tip: Shift the narrative in your organization by celebrating parenthood as a strength. Invest in programs like career coaching to support employees as they embark on the parenting journey, particularly through parental leave, to help them with pre-leave planning that sets them up for success when they return to work.

2. Foster a culture of open communication

Stephanie emphasized that communication is a skill. Her "magic triangle" framework highlights the importance of strong communication between HR, managers, and employees. Each pregnancy experience is unique, and employees' communication needs will vary. For example, some may openly share their fertility journey, while others prefer privacy—but both deserve support.

HR tip: Create a culture of trust where employees feel comfortable sharing their needs. Guide managers on how to handle personal conversations with sensitivity and flexibility, adapt to an individual’s communication style, and respect each employee’s preference for privacy or openness.

‍3. Train managers to address bias

Stephanie shared a powerful quote in her book from one of the women she interviewed: "I was worried about bad intentions hurting me. I wasn’t worried about good intentions."

Even well-meaning managers can unintentionally harm pregnant employees due to unconscious biases. It’s crucial to recognize and address these biases to ensure that employees feel valued and supported.

HR tip: Train managers to identify and eliminate biases, especially around pregnancy and parenthood. Offering formal manager training programs that gives tactical guidance on how they can support parents before, during and after they take parental leave will help them avoid assumptions about a parent’s commitment or capability, and empower them to create an inclusive, supportive environment.

‍

Supporting pregnant employees isn’t just the right thing to do—it’s a smart retention strategy. By reshaping perceptions, promoting open communication and training managers, HR leaders can build a culture where parents thrive—benefiting both employees and the organization.

‍

To celebrate all we’ve accomplished, our team shared what they’re most proud of since joining the team:

I'm most proud of how much we have done to improve the single hardest moment for women's careers (going on parental leave) ... one that is often shrouded in insecurity and fear. We've been able to help advocate for so many women (and men!) in a way that is empowering and truly life-changing.

Allison Whalen, CEO & Founder

What am I most proud of? Growth! Growing a category of support that didn't exist before Parentaly. Growing from a one-woman bootstrapped operation to a global team of 25+ employees and coaches. Growing our overall impact for working parents, with companies investing in our parental leave programming to support employees all over the world. And growing as humans: new babies, new friends, new life experiences... all while tackling new and exciting work challenges together.

Rich Burke, Head of Growth

When I reflect on what I am personally most proud of during my time here, it's working alongside a team where we constantly evolve and optimize everything that we do in order to deliver the best possible experience for the folks going through our programs. It sounds cheesy, but there are processes that my team and I used to do 100% manually that are now completely automated and systems in place that have become second nature to how we operate. Working with such thoughtful, smart, and creative people is incredible.

Sara Ophoff, Senior Program Manager

I’m most proud about doing work that makes parents feel confident and empowered about their careers during a time that can be overwhelming and challenging – not only for our clients and users who go through Parentaly’s programs, but also with our advocacy work on LinkedIn, through our podcast and other big campaigns that make a difference. It’s been pretty rewarding to build a brand people know and love because what we’re doing resonates with so many employees’ experiences in the workforce.

Jenna Vassallo, Head of Brand & Marketing

I am so proud of the way we've approached growth with such care and intentionality - with every adjustment we've made to our offerings, we've never lost sight of our goal to provide the most supportive and valuable experience for our users. I love looking back on the early stages of conversations and building that have led us to the experience we offer today. Personally, I am extremely proud of the work I've done to scale and automate our backend!

Rachel Andes, Program Associate

I am most proud of the work we do every single day to make a positive impact on working parents! Everyday I get to work with an amazing group of people…we work hard but we also have fun.

‍Sarah Gruber, Client Partner

I'm proud of scaling an employee experience that consistently delivers positive outcomes for new parents and their organizations. Our north star has always been the user, and we never sacrifice our high quality bar!

Mansi Kothari, VP of Product & Experience

I feel a sense of pride that I get to work behind the scenes supporting everyone. I’m proud to see all of the collaboration between the team and how Parentaly positively impacts employees.

Leo Manalo, Executive Assistant

I'm most proud of going through the Parentaly program myself! I'm so proud to work for and promote this company in a time where parental leave and supportive policies are at the forefront of a national conversation. But beyond this, I'm most proud to call myself a participant.

Emmy Carragher, Enterprise Partnerships

I’m really proud of the work I did to expand our coaching bench globally at Parentaly. It was so rewarding, not to mention insightful, to connect with talented coaches from around the globe. This expansion not only enriched our coaching offerings but also strengthened our commitment to making a meaningful impact on families all over the world.

‍Nicole Hagemann-Bex, Senior Coaching Operations Manager

I have tremendous pride in the knowledge that what I am doing will change the career landscape for new parents, particularly mothers. This will make it more likely that my daughter can have a career AND a family without worrying about the unintentional negative impact of taking parental leave. Nothing makes me prouder than that.

Mindy Himmel-Brown, Strategic Partnerships

In my short time at Parentaly, I'm proudest of the work we're doing with our clients' ERG groups to elevate the stories and advice of actual working parents. It's such an impactful way to spread the word about Parentaly as an essential resource for all people growing their families, and the managers who support them!

Alex Diskin, Enterprise Account Manager

I'm most proud about using LinkedIn to connect with others. I was recently able to share a helpful return to work doc with 50+ new people looking to make a difference at their company. Was pretty cool that people from Chewy, McDonald's, Honda, Cisco, AWS, Walmart and more want to integrate just a piece of what we have to offer. Also...I'm so proud of the way I feel as an employee at Parentaly. For the first time in my career my personal interests align with my professional interests and I've never felt more motivated.

Jenny Hurwitz, Strategic Partnerships

I'm really proud of being able to help the Experience team by handling the supportive functions so they can focus on the bigger picture. It feels great to know that I’m making things easier for them and contributing to the team’s success.

James Mango, Executive Assistant

Tagged

HR & policy

Manager tips

Working parenthood

Gender equity