Date: Mar 03, 2010

A Presentation By Professor of Law Joanna L. Grossman

Beyond Open Doors: Integrating Pregnant Women Into The Workplace

Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY – Hofstra University’s Office of the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, in cooperation with the Provost Diversity Task Force presents “Beyond Open Doors: Integrating Pregnant Women into the Workplace” on Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at 11:30 a.m. in the Leo A. Guthart Cultural Center Theater, Joan and Donald E. Axinn Library, south campus.

This lecture, presented by Professor of Law Joanna L Grossman, will explore the relationship between pregnancy, work, and equal citizenship. Pregnancy became a real obstacle to women’s full citizenship only when women entered the workforce in greater numbers in the second half of the twentieth century and, later still, when they tried to enter traditionally male-dominated occupations. Conflicts between pregnancy (and childbirth) and work escalated, triggering an anti-discrimination movement that resulted in the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 (PDA).

Joanna L. Grossman J.D., is a Professor of Law and the John DeWitt Gregory Research Scholar. She has previously taught at Vanderbilt University, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law/Yeshiva University, and Tulane University. Professor Grossman is an expert in sex discrimination and has written extensively about workplace equality, with a focus of issues such as sexual harassment and pregnancy discrimination. She is the coeditor of Gender Equality: Dimensions of Women’s Equal Citizenship, an interdisciplinary collection that explored the gaps between formal and commitments to gender equality and the reality of women’s lives. Her research also focuses on family law, with particular emphases on same-sex marriage and the history of divorce.

Hofstra University is a dynamic private institution where students can choose from about 150 undergraduate and more than 160 graduate offerings in liberal arts and sciences, business; engineering; communication; education, health and human services;  and honors studies, as well as a School of Law. With a student-faculty ratio of 14-to-1, our professors teach small classes averaging 22 students that emphasize interaction, critical thinking and analysis. Hofstra offers a faculty whose highest priority is teaching excellence. The University also provides excellent facilities with state-of-the-art technology, extensive library resources and internship programs that match students' interests and abilities with appropriate companies and organizations.