Pregnant Pledge

[AOIIBrandi]

I'm not sure it's discrimination as much as choosing the women who are going to carry on the chapter's legacy. Let's forget the stigma that goes along with being un-married and pregnant for a minute....


If you had 2 women to choose from (all else being equal) one we'll call Suzy freshman, and the other Jane freshman who also happens to be pregnant, who would you take the chance on? Most likely Suzy as from the outside it appears she would be the one who will most likely be able to give you a full 4 years of her time, energy, love... Jane may be very excited now about the possibility of sisterhood, but when the baby is born things will probably change and the baby, most likely, will become her whole life (as it should be) leaving little time for the sorority.

Now to address the question of discrimination against pregnant women in the business world. We all know that it is illegal to discriminate against a pregnant woman, but let's be real. Number 1, this woman would have to prove that out of the pool of candidates she was the best one for the job. Number 2, she has to prove that in addition to number 1 she was not chosen solely because she was pregnant. In the private sector hiring decisions and candidate pools are kept confidential. In order to be able to fully prove this she would have to be going for a job in the public sector where they have "sunshine" laws. Also, it is illegal to ask a woman if she is/plans to become pregnant in an interview, however if she opens the door it is not illegal to discuss it. Again all else being equal and if you have to make a decision between 2 equally qualified candidates there has to be a deciding factor somewhere - this just may be it. It's not nice to say, and it's not easy to hear, but it is the way the real world works.