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The authors aims to use stigma theory to predict and test a model wherein a person’s stage of pregnancy influences their workplace outcomes associated with pregnancy concealment behaviors.

The authors tested the model using two separate survey studies, examining these relationships from the perspectives of both the pregnant employees and their supervisors.

The authors find support for the model across both studies, showing that concealment of a pregnant identity predicts increased discrimination, but only for those in later stages of pregnancy.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to examine how one’s stage of pregnancy impacts identity management outcomes. This is important given that pregnancy is an inherently dynamic stigma that becomes increasingly visible over time.

The purpose of this paper is to explore factors influencing decision making about disclosure of assisted reproductive technology (ART) use in the workplace.

A qualitative study design was used. In total, 31 women and 6 men who were using or had recently used ART were recruited from British fertility networks and interviewed. Data were transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed.

Two main strands were identified each encompassing two themes: “Concerns about disclosure” covered the very personal nature of disclosing ART treatment and also career concerns and “Motives for disclosure” covered feeling which was necessary to disclose and also the influence of workplace relationships.

The relatively small, self-selected sample of participants was recruited from fertility support networks, and lacked some diversity.

Clarity about entitlements to workplace support and formal protection against discrimination, along with management training and awareness raising about ART treatment is needed to help normalise requests for support and to make decisions about disclosure within the workplace easier.

The study has highlighted an understudied area of research in ART populations. The data provide insight into the challenging experiences of individuals combining ART with employment and, in particular, the complexity of decisions about whether or not to disclose.

In this paper, the authors apply the Job Demand-Resource Model to investigate the association between pregnancy-related discrimination (conceptualised as a job demand) and expectant workers' psychological well-being and work engagement, and the moderating role of workplace support (co-worker and supervisor social support and perceived organisational family support (POFS); conceptualised as job resources).

The paper conducted a cross-sectional online survey of vocationally active British workers in their second and third trimesters of pregnancy using purposive sampling techniques. Participants were recruited through online forums and social media platforms. A sample of 186 was used to conduct multiple regression and moderation analysis (SPSS v28 and STATA v17).

The authors observed that higher levels of pregnancy-related discrimination were associated with poorer psychological well-being and work engagement among surveyed expectant workers. Perceived co-worker social support moderated both these relationships for psychological well-being (demonstrating a buffering effect) and work engagement (an antagonist effect). POFS and supervisor support did not moderate this association.

This paper highlights the importance of pregnancy-related discrimination at work as a work stressor, necessitating its reduction as part of organisations' strategies to manage and prevent work-related stress above and beyond their legal requirements to do so under national-level equality legislation. It also sheds light on the potential value of resource-based interventions.

This is the first study to investigate pregnancy-related discrimination and work-related health outcomes within a British sample, and to explore the potential protective health and motivational value of job resources there within.

Women are typically reluctant to disclose menopause-related problems that may affect their working lives to line managers. Consequently, support may not be offered nor potential solutions explored. The purpose of this paper is to examine how working menopausal women would prefer to have conversations about the menopause at work.

Using semi-structured telephone interviews working menopausal women (aged 45–60 years) were asked about their experiencing of talking about their menopause at work, and how helpful conversations might be initiated and conducted. Transcripts were analyzed thematically to identify factors that may facilitate or hinder such conversations.

Two themes emerged: first, organizational context. Facilitators included an open culture with friendly relationships, a knowledgeable and proactive manager, organization-wide awareness of the menopause and aging, and access to a nominated woman to discuss problems. Barriers included male-dominated workplaces, male line managers, fear of negative responses, stigma, discrimination, embarrassment or believing menopause is inappropriate to discuss at work; second, the nature of the discussion. Facilitators included managers demonstrating an understanding and acceptance of a woman’s experience, jointly seeking acceptable solutions, respecting privacy and confidentiality, and appropriate use of humor, as opposed to being dismissive and using inappropriate body language. Discussions with suitable persons at work were preferred and being prepared was advised. The women in the sample advised having discussions with appropriate persons and being prepared.

These findings could inform training programs, workplace policies and practice.

This study provides insights to help women and their managers discuss menopause-related difficulties at work and seek solutions together.

While anonymous online interactions could be helpful and less risky, they are usually not enough for LGBTQ+ people to satisfy the need of expressing their marginalized identity to networks of known ties (i.e. on identified social media like Facebook, WeChat, and TikTok). However, identified social media bring LGBTQ+ people both sources and challenges like “context collapse” that flattens diverse networks or audiences that are originally separated. Previous studies focus on LGBTQ+ people's disclosure and responses to context collapse, few studies investigate how their perceptions of context collapse are shaped and their privacy management beyond regulating disclosure on social media. Drawing on identity theory and communication privacy management (CPM), this study aims to investigate how the need of LGBTQ+ people for self-identity affects their perceived context collapse and results in privacy management on identified social media.

Given the target population is LGBTQ+ people, The authors recruited participants through active LGBTQ+ online communities, influential LGBTQ+ activists, and the snowballing sampling. The authors empirically examined the proposed model using the PLS-SEM technique with a valid sample of 232 respondents concerning their identity practices and privacy management on WeChat, a typical and popular identified social media in China.

The results suggested that the need for expressing the self and the need for maintaining continuity of self-identity have significant influences on perceived context collapse, but vary in directions. The perceived context collapse will motivate LGBTQ+ individuals to engage in privacy management to readjust rules on ownership, access, and extension. However, only ownership management helps them regain the perceived privacy control on social media.

This study incorporated and highlighted the influence of LGBTQ+ identity in shaping context collapse and online privacy management. This study contributes to the literature on privacy and information communication and yields practical implications, especially on improving privacy-related interactive design for identified social media services.

Up to 25 per cent of women will experience depression during their pregnancy. Perinatal mental health problems are a leading cause of maternal morbidity and mortality, however care provided to women is often a low priority. The purpose of this paper is to explore women’s perspective of care from GPs and midwives, when they experience symptoms of depression during pregnancy.

Women, with self-reported symptoms of depression, were invited to post comments in response to a series of on-line questions posted on two discussion forums over a nine month period. The questions were related to the care women received from GPs and midwives. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.

In total, 22 women responded to the on-line questions. A number of themes were identified from the data including women’s disclosure of symptoms to GPs and midwives; lack of knowledge of perinatal mental health among health providers; attitudes of staff and systemic issues as barriers to good care; anti-depressant therapy and care that women found helpful.

Women often face significant emotional and psychological health issues in the transition to motherhood. This small study indicates women often experience difficulties in interacting with their GP and midwife in seeking help. This research has identified some contributing factors, however more rigorous research is needed to explore these complex issues.

This paper highlights service provision in the care of women with depression in pregnancy.

The Equal Pay Act 1970 (which came into operation on 29 December 1975) provides for an “equality clause” to be written into all contracts of employment. S.1(2) (a) of the 1970 Act (which has been amended by the Sex Discrimination Act 1975) provides:

This paper aims to analyze the lived experience of seeking justice and reparations related to conceiving a peacekeeper-fathered child.

Based on 18 semi-structured qualitative interviews conducted across Haiti in 2017, the authors mapped the experiences of Haitian mothers of peacekeeper-fathered children onto the ecological framework, proposing prevention/response strategies at the micro, meso and macro levels.

The findings mainly focus on reporting and access to support. Reporting was sometimes discouraged by the peacekeeper fathers due to the fear of being reprimanded. Among women who did report, some were told that nothing could be done, as the peacekeeper returned to his home country. Disclosure fatigue was common among participants who formally reported their pregnancies/peacekeeper-fathered children, particularly when promises of employment or child support failed to materialize. Overall, there was widespread distrust and disillusionment with the UN’s reporting and support system.

To improve the UN’s sexual abuse and exploitation prevention/response system at the micro level, the authors propose addressing personal knowledge/attitudes/beliefs through scenario-based and contextually relevant peacekeeper training and addressing the sexual/reproductive health needs of women and girls in proximity to peacekeeping bases. At the meso level, the UN should improve trust in reporting. Efforts to do so should include mandatory third-party deoxyribonucleic acid testing and banking, streamlined reporting mechanisms and removing the practice of automatically repatriating implicated peacekeepers. At the macro level, the authors recommend investments to improve educational and economic opportunities for women and girls, as well as revamping policies that contribute to impunity and absolve peacekeepers and troop-contributing countries of their responsibilities to provide child support.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the validity and accuracy of the Whooley questions for routine screening of maternal distress in Dutch antenatal care.

In this cohort design, the authors evaluated self-reported responses to the Whooley questions against the Edinburgh Depression Scale screening for antenatal depression, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for general anxiety and the pregnancy-related anxiety questionnaire-revised screening for pregnancy-related anxiety, among Dutch pregnant women during the first and third trimester of pregnancy. The authors used standard diagnostic performance measures for the two case-finding items.

The Whooley items in this study showed a higher specificity than sensitivity. The Whooley results showed good evidence to identify women who are depressed or (trait)anxious in both trimesters of pregnancy, but the results showed weak to moderate evidence to identify pregnancy-related anxiety. The Whooley items had a low to moderate predictive ability for depression, trait-anxiety and pregnancy-related anxiety and a good ability for negative case-finding. The Whooley items proved to be more able to report how effective the case-finding questions are in identifying women without depression, trait-anxiety and pregnancy-related anxiety (ruling out) rather than how effective these are in identifying women with depression, trait-anxiety and pregnancy-related anxiety (ruling in). The Whooley items were accurate in identifying depression and trait-anxiety in both trimesters but were not very accurate to identify pregnancy-related anxiety.

Assessment of pregnancy-related anxiety using a case-finding tool requires further attention.

The two-item Whooley case-finding tool has shown good utility as a screening instrument for maternal distress. The continuous assessment of maternal emotional health during the childbearing period or, at least, revisiting the topic, would both support the woman and the midwife in regarding perinatal emotional wellbeing as an important remit of midwifery care.

A novel aspect of this paper is the proposition of applying the Whooley questions at later stages of pregnancy or presenting the Whooley questions in a written or digital form.