Yahoo Finance Working mothers are being silenced at work with NDAs
Discrimination against working mothers is rife. Instances of being overlooked for promotions, given low-level work or unfairly dismissed are common – yet for many, speaking up isn’t an option. This isn’t just because going public about harassment or discrimination can be harrowing, but also because working mothers are being gagged by non-disclosure agreements (NDAs).
More than 435,000 mothers in the UK are estimated to have been gagged by NDAs following discrimination, bullying and harassment at work, according to research by the charity Pregnant Then Screwed.
The use case for NDAs has blurred
Officially, these legal agreements or clauses – thought to have originated in the context of maritime law – are designed to prevent former workers from disclosing confidential information or sharing industry secrets. Now, however, NDAs are often used to stop people from speaking about harassment or discrimination – to effectively protect an employer’s reputation and allow them to continue acting unfairly with impunity.
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“NDAs are a way for businesses to brush mistreatment under the carpet and keep their image clean without having to publicly address what happened and change their ways,” says Lauren Fabianski, head of campaigns and communications at Pregnant Then Screwed.
“More than three-quarters of mothers (78%) suffer mental health challenges as a result of being silenced,” she says. “Our research found that just one-quarter of the mothers who are currently silenced would sign an NDA again in the same circumstances.”
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Some employers argue that an NDA gives women a quick and fair resolution to the discrimination they’ve faced, particularly when the alternative is a lengthy and expensive employment tribunal. However, data from the US suggests this isn’t the case.
NDAs banned in some US states
Following the #MeToo movement in 2017, some US states began to ban the use of NDAs by companies to obscure sexual harassment and other forms of misconduct. But, rather than hindering victims’ chances of reparations, the crackdown on NDAs has coincided with a 9% rise in settlements.
And, for those who do sign NDAs, the compensation they receive is often not worth the injustice of having to stay silent. Fewer than a third (30%) of those who have signed an NDA believe they were fairly compensated after experiencing discrimination.
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Importantly, forcing women to keep quiet perpetuates the culture of secrecy that allows businesses to continue discriminatory practices without being held to justice. “Mothers that we speak to experience discrimination of every kind imaginable - from being left out and sidelined to being pushed out and forced to leave,” says Fabianski. “In many of these cases, women can be forced to sign an NDA to keep this mistreatment secret, leaving the perpetrators free to do it again.”
If you’re faced with the option of signing an NDA, Fabianski recommends speaking to a legal expert first. “NDAs and confidentiality clauses can be pretty extensive when detailing who you can and cannot talk to about your experience,” she says. “We would always recommend seeking legal advice and engaging with organisations like Can’t Buy My Silence if you are considering breaking your agreement.”
Employers must take responsibility for their actions
It’s also essential for employers to bear the responsibility of preventing and addressing workplace discrimination, not individual women.
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Lucy Kallin, executive director EMEA at Catalyst, a non-profit organisation that helps build workplaces that work for women, says: “Companies must build an inclusive culture by establishing clear expectations for respectful behaviour, holding individuals accountable, taking discrimination claims seriously and creating a safe environment for disclosure without fear of shaming or retaliation.”
While some unfair practices are clear-cut, other seemingly innocuous behaviours can also be discriminatory, such as benevolent sexism. “This is where senior men hold seemingly positive but ultimately damaging views of women, perpetuating gender-based discrimination,” says Kallin.
“They might wrongly assume that a woman with young children would not want to be considered for an international assignment without even having that conversation. Bias and assumptions made about working parents in the workplace are deeply damaging.”
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