![Kat Jennings - Tax Recruiter Inside Look At Hiring Pregnant Women](https://www.taxconnections.com/taxblog/wp-content/uploads/KAT-JENNINGS-PHOTO-3.jpg?resize=90%2C90&ssl=1)
For more than three decades, I have worked with organizations which have interviewed and hired pregnant women. I have also worked with companies who quietly declined to hire women who are pregnant but gave other reasons for not hiring them. As an executive search professional, who has placed thousands of tax professionals, you often see behind the scenes how pregnant women are interviewed and handled. This post discusses my personal experience and observations in how companies handled pregnant women in the field of tax.
As an expert in executive tax search with a long list of clients, I have experienced a wide range of scenarios in the hiring process. What is always interesting to me is the hiring of pregnant women. For the record, my three sons are 25, 25, 26 so my child bearing years are behind me. However, my tax executive search practice was so busy when I had my sons there was no way I would stop working. I took two weeks off after my first son and one month after my identical twins. I was on the phone helping clients even from my hospital bed. It is in my DNA to work hard and after years of raising three sons, I am still a hard driving producer of work for clients searching for tax expertise. Some people are born out of the womb with incredible drive.
Companies are searching for professionals who are trained, motivated and are a cultural fit. If you are trained and educated, pregnant, have a track record of performances you will be hired by companies. These days, companies do not care if you are pregnant or have a litter of kids as I did:) What companies care about is your technical experience, drive, motivation and work ethic, decision-making skills, attitude and what you will bring overall to the organization. After working with thousands of professionals, I have learned work ethic does not change nor do personal ethics. If they are strong producers they continue to be so throughout their careers; if they are low producers they will continue to be so throughout their careers. If a person is ethical, they can be counted on to be ethical. Type A performers have the habits instilled long before they reach an interview. These habits do not change.
It is important to share real experiences when companies have retained me to conduct a tax search for them. What sparked the idea for this post was a conversation I had recently with a VP Tax who was hired while she was 6 months pregnant. The organization who hired her was not focused on her pregnancy during the interview (nor did they ask); they were focused on her technical expertise, personality, drive and management skills. She was clearly showing during the interview process and the company did not ask even once about it. The organization is managed by a sophisticated team of executives who all have families. More importantly, they understand women can have kids and a great work performance at the same time.
The pregnancy was never an issue and we asked the client to delay the start date 3 months until after the baby was born. The client was amazing with her and recently retained me to find more people for their tax department in San Francisco, CA. The company is a family office and investment group. They all do a fantastic job juggling their children and careers.
Another company I have worked with over the years has an all women tax team. It just worked out that way and it was not planned to be all women in the tax organization. The CEO is a man though. In this case, they all work together to support each other to attend their children’s special events and activities. They also work from home on the days the children are sick and have made it all work effectively for everyone on the team. They are genuinely understanding, responsible, highly committed to the team success and ensuring the work gets done on time. The organization has created a culture of support for women. Understand the culture you are being considered by. These are easy environments to find if you ask the right questions. The CEO told me privately he felt fortunate to have a motivated female tax team who always gets the work done on time.
Another experience of the many I have had in sending pregnant women out to interview is the woman who does not tell the employer she is pregnant. This is a very tough conversation for anyone to bring up in the interview process. Over the years, I am often asked how to handle this question and here is what I advise. If you know you are pregnant there is the right time and place to tell the company who wants to hire you. The interview process is an opportunity to build rapport and trust with a potential new employer. Start by building rapport with the hiring team first and determine if the job is right for you. If you are pregnant and made an offer, it is important to be upfront and honest with the company hiring you. Starting a new job with an employer, and after being there one month, telling them you are two months pregnant is not a show of integrity to your new employer. It is best to be straight up before you accept any offer. Let your references and integrity become the measure of your skills and character. You will be hired on them!
Having shared these stories, know there are Federal and State Laws that protect women and men today. All 50 states including Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico fall under the Federal Family And Medical Leave Act (FMLA) which entitles eligible employees to take unpaid, job-related maternity leave. In addition, there are states like California, Hawaii, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, Kentucky, Louisiana, District of Columbia and Puerto Rico that have laws that are more generous than other states.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are now more women in the workforce than men. With an unemployment rate of 3.5%, and more jobs for tax professionals today than available tax candidates to fill them, there are many more opportunities for pregnant women in tax today. We would love to hear of your experience if a company hired you while pregnant.
My experience is that great companies are focused on your expertise, motivation, integrity and a host of other skills that make you the best fit overall for their organization. Fortunately, I have a great client base in the world of tax professional searches.
Contact kat@taxconnections.com if you are interested in knowing more about family friendly work environments. 858.999.0053 X100
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