Yesterday, a former Goldman Sachs vice president sued the firm for scuttling her to the "mommy track" when she was pregnant. Charlotte Hanna's lawyer wrote, "When Ms. Hanna decided to take the ‘off-ramp’ provided by the firm to devote time to her children, there was no ‘on-ramp’ that enabled her to return to full-time employment. The ‘off-ramp’ was a direct path to a mommy-track that ultimately derailed Ms. Hanna’s career."
Hanna worked part-time after having her first child (Goldman has a program allowing new mothers to do that), but then things went south, she claims. According to Reuters, "Hanna, a Manhattan resident, alleged that after her 2005 return from her first maternity leave, Goldman demoted her and made her feel unwelcome in what had become a 'boys-only' club." Then, in February of last year, she says she was fired a week before returning from her second maternity leave.
Her lawsuit, which claims Goldman violated the U.S. Family Medical Leave Act, allows contends that 75% of the women in her group who were terminated had taken maternity leave; her lawyer also wrote, "Goldman Sachs views working mothers as second-class citizens."
