National Respect for Parents Day: Unpacking Bias Against Parents

National Respect for Parents Day is observed on August 1st each year. The holiday serves as a reminder to recognize the contributions made by parents and the role they play not only in their children’s upbringing but society as a whole.

Parent employees may experience challenges of balancing both of these aspects of their life, and unfortunately may experience bias. 60% of working mothers report experiencing discrimination due to their parental status (Cheung et al., 2022). In workplace performance evaluations, parent employees might be judged more harshly if they have a lack of flexibility in their work schedule due to parental leave or emergencies that may occur with their children (Lip, 2024). 

Biases may include the assumption that a parent employee may be unable to attend a meeting or conference or isn’t suitable for a role due to a lack of flexibility. This is exemplified in @Equity Commons’ Virtual Reality module “Ana’s Big Presentation”. The module follows Ana, a dedicated businesswoman who experiences bias from her boss, Jim. The module illustrates how bias can lead to reduced career advancement for parent employees. 

On National Respect for Parent’s Day we highlight the importance of eliminating workplace bias and ensuring equitable access to career advancement for parents. 

References

Cheung, H. K., Anderson, A. J., King, E. B., Mahabir, B., Warner, K., & Jones, K. P. (2022). Beyond the baby bump: subtle discrimination against working mothers in the hiring process. Journal of Business and Psychology, 37(6), 1181–1198. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-022-09790-7

Llp, L. C. L. C. (2024, June 3). Unconscious bias and discrimination against working parents. San Francisco Employment Lawyer | Bay Area Discrimination Attorney.
https://leclerlaw.com/blog/2024/06/
unconscious-bias-discrimination-against-working-parents/