How many of you have been asked about your plans to grow a family before even getting a job?
How many of you have lied about being pregnant for fear of discrimination and bias in the workplace?
How many of you have felt your worth and job prospects decline as your body began to change?
We hear you. And enough is enough.
If you’ve been following along with our Founder and CEO @joannaknix's exciting announcement last month about fundraising while pregnant and rejecting investors who questioned her ability to run Knix while pregnant— you understand where we’re coming from.
Our announcement was met with waves of love and support but it was also met with a lot of judgment, assumptions and blatant pregnancy discrimination. While laws like the Pregnancy Discrimination Act have existed for years, it doesn’t mean that pregnant people don’t face dangerous forms of inequity from others. Online, in-person, everyday.
Why is this dangerous? Biases around pregnancy perpetuate misogyny, widen the wage-gap and disproportionately impact pregnant people of color. Not to mention, male-identifying people in the same situations don't receive nearly the same amount of discrimination because the assumption is that they won't be "leaving" their job, which can be very harmful as well.
We are Knix, and we will continue to talk about and defend sex and gender-based discrimination.
We will continue to uplift people in similar situations so they can advocate for themselves. We will actively work on normalizing these conversations regardless of whether you’re childless by choice or in your postpartum period.
We will continue to share our story to make sure those in positions of power think twice before they ask the question - are you currently pregnant or planning on starting a family?
#knix