Thérèse Giannini
Title/s: Discrimination Against Single Mothers in the Workplace
Title/s: Discrimination Against Single Mothers in the Workplace
Year: Senior
Majors: Cognitive/Behavioral Neuroscience, Psychology
Mentor: Dr. Tracy DeHart
In the workplace, single mothers face discrimination for their identity. They are expected to be ideal employees one hundred percent of the time while also acting as the primary caregiver to their child(ren). This standard creates unrealistic expectations for single working mothers that manifest as stigma, stereotypes, and discrimination that affect hiring practices, on-the-job experiences, performance evaluations, expression of identity, and consideration for promotions. The goal of this mixed methods study is to examine these experiences of discrimination of single working mothers. Single working mothers (N=75) will be recruited to complete an online mixed methods study about work-family relationships. Participants will complete basic demographic information, and measures regarding workplace discrimination and workplace satisfaction will be evaluated. Participants will then be interviewed and asked about the discrimination they experience at work and whether they hide their single mother status. Results will examine the experiences of single mothers in the workplace, both through qualitative and quantitative methods. Experiences with discrimination will be qualitatively (and quantitatively) analyzed using coding methods. The intersection between single status and motherhood in the workplace is often overlooked, and this study will bring forth the experiences and voices of single working mothers.