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Remotely working mothers and employment discrimination

On Behalf of | Aug 6, 2020 | Employment Law

Juggling work and caring for your child can be tough as times. As the work environment has been changing in Tennessee and elsewhere, you, as a parent, are faced with difficult decisions. While there are many benefits to working remotely, when a workspace is shared with your children, this can strain your productivity. Thus, it could present problems with scheduled hours, flexibility in your schedule and even your job in general. Thus, if you have suffered negative employment treatments due to your status as a parent, it may give you cause for filing an employment discrimination action.

Mothers and remote working

Because more and more employees are changing the way they complete they work, many parents across the nation are finding themselves working remotely from home. This not only means sharing space with a partner who is doing the same, but it also means working with the children present.

A recent study found that when parents work remotely with children present, it is more likely that the mother will lose work time to care for the children or help them with schoolwork. On average, mothers have been working about 5% less or roughly 2 hours a week less while the father’s hours have generally remained unchanged.

Issues with gender pay gap

The study also found that children tend to turn to their mothers first when they need help. This not only creates interruptions to the workday, it has resulted in mothers scaling back on work intentionally or unintentionally. During this remote working period experienced across the nation and globe, it was found that mothers are now working fewer hours or may have lost their job because of their obligations as a parent who now has to care for their children who are home because of schools and daycares being closed.

What is even more concerning, this situation has resulted in a negative impact to the already concerning gender pay gap. This situation has caused the work hours gender pay gap to worsen by 20% to 50%, which is significant when it comes to tracking pay equality and equal treatment in the workplace.

Employment discrimination action

If you believe that you have been unfairly treated by an employer or have lost your job due to your gender or status as a parent, it is important to explore your rights. An employment discrimination may be possible, as this action helps assess the situation and determines in any employment action taken against you was on the basis of a protected characteristic. If proven, damages could be recovered for the losses suffered due to employment discrimination.