A professor at the University of Georgia – Terry College of Business was recently named a finalist for the 2016 Rosabeth Kanter Award for Excellence in Work-Family Research.
Laura Little, who currently serves as director for the Institute for Leadership Advancement and an associate professor of Management at the college, was named as a finalist for the award in recognition of her article “Professional Image Maintenance: How Women Navigate Pregnancy in the Workplace”, which was published in the Academy of Management Journal this spring.
Little’s paper examines some of the assumptions made by many about how pregnant woman hope to be treated in the workplace. Such an issue can have serious legal ramifications, considering recent public discussion surrounding such issues as accommodating pregnant women in the workplace. While many assume that pregnant women may feel entitled to certain accommodations at work, Little’s study finds the opposite to be true. Including surveys and interviews with hundreds of pregnant workers in her research, Little finds that an overwhelming majority of pregnant women do not, and might even reject, special accommodations in the workplace.
“What we found, in an overwhelming way, was that the primary concerns were outwardly focused on their professional image and how they would be viewed at work,” said Little. “We were surprised at this– surprised not that it was a concern but that it was the overriding concern.”
The Rosabeth Kanter Award, for which Little is nominated, was named for one of the founding researchers in human resources management and organizational behavior. The award strives to raise awareness of impactful work-family research for scholars, consultants and practitioners alike.
Nominees for the award – of which Little is one of five – were chosen through a rigorous review process of over 60 leading scholars. This year, the scholars determined the finalists after reviewing more than 2500 articles published in 82 high quality English-language journals from across the globe.