Pregnant Woman Says Her Access To Closer Parking At Work Was Suddenly Taken Away
She tried to explain to the HR department that allowing easier parking for pregnant women was something they should consider implementing.
Bo1982 | Shutterstock A pregnant woman working in a male-dominated field gave a real-life day-to-day example of how she often has to fight for basic courtesies many of her male co-workers don't particularly understand.
In a TikTok video, a content creator and corporate worker named Tammy revealed what it's like being a pregnant woman in a male-dominated workspace after opening up about her parking dilemma.
Her access to closer parking at work was suddenly taken away.
"A little bit of background: I'm currently six and a half months pregnant, and I'm having to walk from the main lot to our very far front of the office building to get to my desk," Tammy began in her video. She explained that up until a few weeks ago, HR approved and allowed her to park in the visitor's lot, which happened to be a much shorter walk to her desk.
However, HR suddenly changed its mind, decided to single out Tammy, and instructed her boss that she would no longer be allowed to park near the front of the building even though she was heavily pregnant.
Of course, Tammy wasn't going to take that for an answer and wrote a polite, professional, yet strongly worded email to everyone in the HR department. "[I] very clearly stated all of the reasons why we should implement pregnancy parking."
Walking through the parking lot in her video, Tammy panned the camera to show that her job has "motorcycle parking," "employee of the month parking," and other designated reserved spots, but nothing for pregnant women.
Showing off the visitor parking lot, Tammy pointed out how many empty parking spots there were.
"It's currently 2 p.m. on a Tuesday, and look ... an empty lot, shocking," Tammy continued.
Unfortunately, Tammy's experience is all too common. While it may not seem like it to some people, forcing a heavily pregnant woman to walk more than she needs to just to get into the office building isn't fair at all.
According to a 2022 Bipartisan Policy Center survey, 20% of mothers have experienced pregnancy discrimination in the workplace, and 23% have considered leaving their jobs due to it.
Pregnancy discrimination can consist of things like having to work in physically demanding jobs where they're denied breaks or asked to carry water bottles, or more subtle in corporate offices, where they may be excluded from meetings or passed over for promotions.
On top of everything that's happened with the parking spot, Tammy also revealed that the company she works for has been trying hard to push Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, which she made sure to include in her initial email as well. Adding a couple of parking spots for pregnant women on a first-come-first-serve basis would fall right under DEI initiatives, but because she works in a male-dominated field, they would never consider something like that.
"However, the HR department decided to double down and tell me that all of the available parking spots in the reserved [parking lots] don't have space right now to reserve parking spots for pregnant women," Tammy said, despite knowing that that isn't true at all.
In the comments section, multiple people suggested that Tammy file an official complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) if her company and the HR department refused to allow her to have access to closer parking.
At the end of the day, her employers should be more than willing to compromise with Tammy. It certainly seems like the least they could do.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.