Introduction: Barriers to Justice

Laws alone aren’t enough to stop employers from discriminating against pregnant women, even at companies like Google.

“While trauma keeps us dumbfounded, the path out of it is paved with words, carefully assembled, piece by piece, until the whole story can be revealed.”

- The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk

“Trust me, Chelsey. You don’t want to file a lawsuit against a company like Google. You have a house, a husband, a job…”

So said an attorney I consulted after I decided to hold my employer, Google, accountable for blatant pregnancy and maternity discrimination. By the time I left the company in August of 2019, my mental health had drastically declined, and once again, I faced further objections when I met with a psychiatrist who advised me not to file a lawsuit.

His words were, “Move on with your life.”

Attorneys and psychiatrists are supposed to be neutral. Still, it’s common for hardships associated with pregnancy to be dismissed, and even these professionals are not immune to this bias. At first, I did as the attorney suggested. Eventually, though, I realized I would only attain justice and feel whole again through proper accountability. So, I embarked on the arduous path of filing a lawsuit against one of the biggest tech companies on earth.