Ontario Human Rights Commission updates Policy on Discrimination due to Pregnancy & Breastfeeding

The Ontario Human Rights Commission has released an update of its Policy on Discrimination Because of Pregnancy and Breastfeeding.  The update incorporates, among other things, new legal cases relating to pregnancy and pregnancy-related discrimination in employment, services and housing.  You'll see from the Table of Contents, that the Policy covers a lot of ground, including:

• Code Protections for Pregnancy and Breastfeeding
• Pregnancy and Intersecting Grounds under the Code (describes how a woman may experience discrimination due to pregnancy differently based on other aspects of her identity such as her age or ethnicity);
• Pregnancy and Family Status
• Pregnancy and Domestic Abuse
• Examples of Discrimination based on pregnancy and breastfeeding such as:
  • discrimination based on negative attitudes and stereotypes;
  • subtle discrimination;
  • harassment or poisoned environments;
  • systemic discrimination;
  • failure to accommodate
• Employment and Pregnancy
  • Pregnancy and pregnancy-related legislation and protections beyond the Human Rights Code;
  • Discrimination in hiring, promotions, transfers and terminations
  • The Duty to accommodate pregnancy and pregnancy-related characteristics

Although this is an Ontario-based policy, the concepts discussed have universal application.  As a result, I'd consider it recommended reading for all Canadian employers.

Comments

[Nuclearrain]

I think this is an exciting development. Pregnancy, babies, and children are inherently wonderful. It is simply our societal biases that have incessantly spoiled the experiences for so many.

Economically speaking, without higher birthrates and subsequently, more children, our economy and societal cohesion will not be sustainable. This new policy of Ontario, is groundbreaking, and in my mind, a step in the right direction.

Employers should adopt this, not out of fear of litigation, but out of the broader understanding of its foundational role in our economy.

[Nuclearrain]

I just tried that odiogo "listen now" button above. Not bad. I did notice though, that the tool requires ";" and ":" in lists as well as commas before "and" in order to read with the proper pauses.

It is a neat tool. I hope they eventually build into it pauses at the start of "(" as well. It has certainly come a long way since the old TTS (text to speech) technologies and there infamous monotonous robot sound.

[Donna Seale]

Thanks for your comments, @nuclearrain! I appreciate your 'test run' of the Odigo button. You're right that there are some kinks to work out, but it is nice to have easy access to a technology that can be used on a blog to provide assistance to those who require text-to-speech conversion. I'm currently looking at making further changes to my blog to make it more universally accessible -- stay tuned!