Victory for Working Mom

Teresa Lehman may soon be a hero to working moms everywhere. According to James McCarty in the 5/26 Plain Dealer, Ms. Lehman recently won an employment discrimination lawsuit against Kohl's Department Stores. Lehman, who had three children in a four year period, claimed that she was frequently passed over for promotion to store manager due to bias against her as a working mom. Lehman was awarded 2.1 million dollars plus attorney's fees in the suit.

I've heard many stories of women (and men) who feel they have been passed over for opportunities because of their parental responsibilities. Many assume that if they choose to have to children, then they have to slow down in career progression. This belief is held even more closely by those who pursue flexible work options. Many parents who go part-time or try to work from home do so with the plan to put their career movement on hold. But, this doesn't have to be the case. Working parents can take care of their home responsibilities and still be a contributing and valuable employee.

Parents who have faced discrimination in the workplace should pursue justice through the legal system. However, I believe real change will happen when parents begin to stand up and demand flexibility in the workplace. Companies will become more flexible when they start to realize they will lose the war for talent if they are not. Even more, if companies realize they can save money through employee retention and become more competitive through the increased productivity of flexible workers, more opportunities will exist for parents. And as a result, parents such as Ms. Lehman will not have to go through the stress of a court case to have success at work.