. Equal access to promotion seems to get blurry in practice, however, when it comes to opportunities while a woman ismaternity leave. We heard from women who believed they were not considered for opportunities while on leave that they otherwise would have been.
Sunny, a product manager, described her back to work experience as “horrific.” While she was out, a position was created with a similar job description to her role but with a higher title. The position was filled, without feedback on why she was not granted the opportunity. It is Sunny’s belief that if the role had opened while she was present, there would have been a conversation with her manager regarding the opportunity.
“My manager not taking the time to summarize and describe the work I did meant he didn’t recognize it… That was such a hard time in my life. Being pregnant was so difficult…If you did the work, you deserve to be recognized, whether or not you’re in the office when the rating is delivered.” —Going on maternity leave often means managers or coworkers must pitch in to cover the work.