In Northouse (2018) case study 15.3- Pregnancy as a Barrier to Job Status, Marina experiences a barrier to her job status because of gender prejudice and discernment though she is a managing director for a manufacturing company for ten years and has worked extremely hard. She is highly motivated and committed to her work and she proved to achieve the promotion in the company as a top executive. Marina was reluctant to share the news about her pregnancy with her boss, Roy as she was aware about the history of the firm releasing women prior to or shortly after giving birth. Marina is fearful and anxious about the possibility of losing her position, thus pregnancy was a barrier to her achievement. Moreover, lack of “commitment to employment and motivation” (Northouse, 2018, pg.no. 408) are implied when the news is delivered to Roy which further supports gender biases for women in leadership roles.

Roy’s response highlights these gender biases and discrimination. “I knew this was going to happen sooner or later; it always does and there’s no point in talking about this now. We’ll think about it later” (Northouse, 2018, pg. no. 420), was is response despite wishing her a great motherhood and offering a thorough plan to distribute her work while she is off, he communicated with a hidden agenda of discrimination. What Roy should have said in response to Marina’s news, additionally to congratulations, would be to ask her plans prior to and after her leave by following a transformational servant leadership approach to understand Marina’s situation and needs. Discussion on planning to distribute her work and seeking to understand her needs and goals on a professionally and personal level, with the organizational policy and protocols would have been the appropriate response.

Roy should have ensured that Marina’s work will be covered in her absence and should have included Marina in the process of assigning her work to someone else or asked her suggestion for a colleague for replacement. This ensures that her work would be done effectively and provide her the comfort and encouragement. Conducting a professional growth and development planning session prior to Marina’s leave gives assurance that her goals for professional advancement won’t fall apart and discussing her career objectives and how she plans to reach them helps eradicate those gender bias about pregnancy as a physical and emotional barrier for career accomplishments.

In this case study, organizational manager was too authoritative and is preoccupied with discriminative thoughts on pregnant women in leadership positions. To eradicate this, legalities around the Family and Medical Leave Act should be front and center for an organization (Northouse, 2018). Senior administrators and division heads should have this legal education embedded into their practice and organizational policy and immediate action must be taken if law is violated. Moreover, training sessions on rights of employees and educational seminars to bring awareness to gender discrimination in the workplace is necessary. To wrap up, a change in an organization to adopt a “family-friendly reform” (Northouse, 2018, pg.no. 413) to ensure job protected maternity leaves and dismiss myths as pregnancy being a barrier to job status would benefit Marina and other pregnant women in this organization. Being pregnant isn’t a curse, it’s a boon that molds a woman to be more responsible, affectionate and protective. If she is strong enough to give life, guide another human from the scratch, she is already a great leader and will excel as a leader if given a chance to be in the eligible position keeping aside the gender discrimination. Remember, a mother is the first teacher and a mother who is educated, knowledgeable, skillful and experienced will be more fruitful.

 

Reference

Northouse, P. G. (2018). Leadership: Theory and practice, Seventh Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, pg.no. 408 – 420.