I do not heart Christine Hassler

It’s not okay to keep quiet about being pregnant when interviewing for a job, says Christine Hassler at the HuffPo. In fact, she says you should mention it in the first interview.

I guess jobless pregnant women should just roll over and give up, then. Because I’m here to tell Hassler that if you ‘fess up about being pregnant in your first interview, you will not get the job. I have to conclude that in Hassler’s world nobody’s broke and pregnant. In her world, every pregnant woman has a sugar daddy (or a trust fund).

Hassler tells us to put ourselves in the employer’s shoes. I would if I could afford them without a job. In my cheap shoes, what I see is a context of discrimination against mothers and a major imbalance of power between a job seeker—especially a female, pregnant one—and employers. Employers don’t do much trying on of my shoes. If they did, they might think more creatively about the benefits of accommodating pregnant employees—such as access to a broader talent pool who, in exchange for a short-term inconvenience, may become long-term assets to firms. In this world, employers don’t think like that. Most view pregnant women more negatively than they do other employees who may require short-term leaves. In fact, it's not uncommon for a woman to lose her job for getting pregnant, putting her on the job market at an inopportune moment. So I don’t see any obligation to wallow in empathy for prospective employers.

I do think it’s sensible to mention your pregnancy early on, before you’ve started work. I suggest mentioning pregnancy after you’ve gotten the job offer. As the lawyer Hassler cites mentions, this provides you with some protection from discrimination. It’s playing hard ball, but let’s get real here. That’s the work world, especially for a mother. Quit preaching masochism and telling me to throw like a girl. I’ve got a kid to feed.

(Shame on Mothertalkers too for agreeing with Hassler. I guess they haven’t tried on those jobless-and-pregnant shoes, either.)