We need to look closely at the number of pregnant tech workers being laid off right now | by Chelsey Glasson

After spending nearly three long years entrenched in a legal battle with Google, fighting pregnancy discrimination I both witnessed and experienced, I never thought I’d be sitting where I am today with the perspective that I’m one of the lucky ones. But, as my LinkedIn feed is again saturated with heartbreaking stories of expecting and new moms losing their tech jobs in yet another wave of layoffs, that’s where I find myself today.

According to 2022 research conducted by the Bipartisan Policy Center, 20% of working moms in the U.S. report having experienced pregnancy discrimination, which, based on multiple federal laws, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) defines as, “treating women differently, or less favorably, because of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.”

The tech industry was still thriving when I was pushed out of Google during maternity leave, pre-pandemic, and I easily landed another job at Facebook. Although the arduous path of suing Google came with many challenges, I prevailed and received a settlement that allowed me to go back to school and pursue an entirely new career as an employment attorney. That’s not a typical happy ending for the steadily increasing number of moms who have shared their stories of being laid off unexpectedly while pregnant or on maternity leave, amid a multi-year tech industry recession marked by mass layoffs.

For some moms, being laid off meant losing their maternity leave benefits or using precious time during their maternity leave interviewing for jobs in a depressed tech job market — time that should have been focused on recovering from childbirth and caring for their newborn. Others have had to navigate pregnancy complications with gaps in health insurance coverage, resulting in inadequate healthcare and unanticipated medical bills. Many have shared how they believe the stress of being laid off while pregnant has impacted the health of their pregnancies and babies. Due to losing their work visas, some have even had to depart the country, baby in hand, leaving their support networks behind.

There’s been discussion about how tech companies laying off expecting and new moms isn’t illegal because of an assumption that such…