The Motherhood Penalty

How to stop motherhood being the kiss of death for your career

Joeli Brearley

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN:
  9781398508040
• eBook ISBN:
  9781471192685
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Gynecology, Obstetrics & Midwifery

AN EYE-OPENING EXPLORATION OF MODERN MOTHERHOOD PACKED WITH PRACTICAL ADVICE ON NAVIGATING DISCRIMINATION IN THE WORKPLACE

‘It’s the book that proves working mothers are shamefully mistreated’ - Daily Mail
‘Brearley’s book leaves no stone unturned in what needs to be done to remedy these problems going forward’ – Vogue UK
'Joeli is one of the most tenacious and impressive campaigners I know, and her work has had a massive positive impact on the lives of thousands of women. Her work is invaluable, from setting up a vital lifeline for women to learn about their rights on maternity discrimination, to the frontlines of the Covid-19 crisis, where she battled for women not to be left out of the picture altogether.' - Laura Bates

Imagine suddenly being sacked from your job. After spending years building your career, it’s all taken away in just one moment. Why? Because you told your boss you are pregnant. 
 
This happened to Joeli Brearley. And she quickly realised she wasn’t alone - 54,000 women a year are forced out of their job because they dared to procreate, and three quarters of working mothers face workplace discrimination. And this was before the pandemic, with its never-ending cycle of extraordinary childcare challenges and overt pregnancy and maternity discrimination, resulting in a tsumani of mothers exiting the labour force.   
Pregnant Then Screwed is an expose of the unscrupulous work practices and antiquated systems that we’ve been conditioned to accept and a toolkit for how to challenge them. It’s full of practical advice to help you navigate systemic barriers when they slap you in the face. 

Whether you’re a mother who is sick of being sidelined, undermined, and underpaid. A ''stay at home'' mother who wants to work but can't. A future parent who is scared that having children will affect your career. An employer who wants to get the best out of its parent employees, or you simply want a stronger, fairer economy, Pregnant Then Screwed is a compelling manifesto for change and a call to arms for all women. 
 

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Dedication
• The Interview
• Preface: Do It All, Screw It All
• Chapter 1: How It All Began: Discrimination, Gestation, Creation
• Chapter 2: How Did We Get Here?
• Chapter 3: The Guilt Will Gobble You Up If You Let It
• Chapter 4: The Motherhood Penalty
• Chapter 5: I Had a Baby, Not a Lobotomy: Pregnancy and Maternity Discrimination
• Chapter 6: Isn’t That Illegal?
• Chapter 7: Gagged
• Chapter 8: Cheer Up, It Might Never Happen
• Chapter 9: Childcare Is Infrastructure
• Chapter 10: The Domestic Load
• Chapter 11: What about Dad?
• Chapter 12: Don’t Be a Schmuck, Flex It Up
• Chapter 13: No Ordinary Mother
• Chapter 14: Master of Your Own Destiny: Is Self-Employment the Solution?
• Chapter 15: What Are They Doing Over There?
• Chapter 16: Where There’s a Will There’s a Way
• Chapter 17: Lockdown
• Afterword: Nolite Te Bastardes Carborundorum
• Other Places to Go for Help
• Further Reading
• Key Data
• Acknowledgements
• About the Author
• Notes
• Index
• Copyright