Historically, women have enjoyed fewer career opportunities than men have. Before Congress passed the PDA in 1978, it was not uncommon for pregnant employees to be fired, demoted, forced to take unpaid leave, or denied leave altogether.

The PDA was intended to provide relief for working women and end pregnancy discrimination in the workforce. Throughout the 1970s, the United States Supreme Court made a series of decisions that limited the reach of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, finally culminating in the decision General Electric v. Gilbert. In this case, several female employees alleged violation of Title VII when their employer’s disability plan excluded from its coverage the risk of any conditions resulting from pregnancy. The Supreme Court acknowledged that, while only women experience pregnancy, it can be categorized differently from other covered medical conditions on the ground that disabilities from pregnancy result from voluntary and desired actions rather than unwanted disease and/or accidents. Therefore, the court stated, pregnancy discrimination was not a sex-based classification under Title VII.

In response, Congress quickly passed the Pregnancy Discrimination Amendment, thereby amending the scope of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The PDA provides that discrimination “on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions” constitutes unlawful sex discrimination under Title VII. The legislative history of the amendment suggests that the purpose of the PDA was to ensure that pregnancy-related disabilities and other temporary disabilities would be treated similarly. Supporters of the PDA pointed out that women contribute significantly to their families’ income and any loss due to pregnancy discrimination could have a negative effect on the entire family.¹

Since the inception of the PDA, the Supreme Court has routinely interpreted it broadly. In California Federal Savings & Loan Association v. Guerra (1987), the court determined that Congress intended the protections of the PDA to act as a floor beneath which pregnancy-related protections must not drop and not as a ceiling. This means that states may enact greater protections for pregnant workers but may not reduce the protections provided by Congress. Later, in International Union v. Johnson Controls, Inc. (1991), the court held that the PDA also applies to future pregnancies. In that case, the employer limited the type of work that pregnant women or women of childbearing age could perform; these policies were based on the idea that performing those activities could adversely affect the (potential) unborn child. While the court recognized the company’s interest in protecting itself from future liability for complicated pregnancies or birth defects, it held that the PDA prohibits an employer from discriminating against women because of their potential to become pregnant.

Today, pregnant women continue to fight stereotypes in the workforce. Once a woman becomes pregnant, or tries to become pregnant, she may be seen as putting her personal life ahead of her job. The idea that a woman will quit her job once she begins a family continues to be pervasive and leads to discriminatory actions among employers.² A recent study in the United Kingdom showed that 76 percent of employers surveyed would not hire a woman if they knew she would become pregnant in the next six months.³ Other recent studies, conducted by researchers from George Mason University and Rice University, found that women who appeared pregnant while applying for jobs faced the risk of patronization or even hostility.⁴ These kinds of discrimination are even more alarming today as more and more women start their families later in life, when their careers are more established and they have more invested in them.

Even though it is now 30 years after the PDA was passed, cases involving pregnancy discrimination continue to come before the courts. To read about recent litigation involving the PDA, please see "The Pregnancy Discrimination Act: Recent Cases."

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