Kids, Kids, Kids
Photo by Helena Lopes from Pexels
A recent report by Faunalytics titled, The State of Animal Advocacy in North America: Experiences and Turnover, found that 82.9% of paid advocates and 81.1% of unpaid advocates did not have children. Those numbers are pretty staggering. That said, what is interesting is that it did not highlight that 17.1% and 18.9% respectively did have children.
I vividly recall a conversation I had recently with an incredible activist, who has two children, relaying to me how she felt that she had to hide the fact that she had children from her colleagues and from others within the Movement for fear of retaliation. She also relayed to me how her boss at the time regularly made anti-natalist comments on his own social media page, and to her directly when she needed time away from work in connection with a matter to do with her children. And, further, he made comments to her about how a good employee is someone who is willing to work evenings and weekends - clearly not something that a mother can do easily.
I can personally attest that not only are these two children poised to lead the future of our Movement, but she is one of the most talented activists I have ever known. The very fact that she felt that she had to hide her children, or at least shield them, is deeply concerning, and almost led her to leave the Movement entirely. Fortunately, she was able to move on from working for that organization and that person, and now holds a new and critical role for a group that celebrates everything she brings to her job, including providing her with the necessary time away from work as needed - especially now during this unprecedented time in history. And, as a Movement, the animals are better with her in it!
While, like many of you, I chose not to have children, let us not forget those who do have children. And more importantly, let us not in any way make them feel that they need to hide their parental experiences from us, let us not let them feel disrespected for their decision, and let us also ensure that we never send the message that they cannot fulfill their work obligations as a result. Doing so would not only deeply devalue these individuals, and devalue their children, but it would also diminish the diversity of ideas and experiences we need. And, in many jurisdictions, this form of discrimination is against the law. Human rights law also often requires that the employer provide the employee accommodation for matters to do with children in a ground referred to as “family status” or “parental status”.
Please let us all be sensitive to the many definitions of family, and what family means to each of us.
I want to help to empower you to be the best activist you can be. Please reach out with any questions and I’ll try to answer them in future blogs, anonymously of course!
Always for the Animals,
Krista
This blog series is provided for general information purposes only. It is not intended to provide legal advice or opinions of any kind. No one should act, or refrain from acting, based solely upon the materials provided on this website, any hypertext links or other general information without first seeking appropriate legal or other professional advice.
The intention of this blog is to promote the longevity and engagement level of the activist community within the Animal Advocacy Movement (AAM). The majority of the advice will be geared towards employees within the AAM in Canada and the United States, but may be applicable to other countries. All information provided assumes that the employee works within a non-unionized environment.
Krista spent the first 15 years of her career in human resources including as the Vice President of HR for one of the largest tech companies in the world. Krista then founded a boutique employment law firm in Toronto where she consulted to employers across Canada and the U.S. for a decade. To pursue her true passion, Krista sold her practice to lead Mercy For Animals in Canada where she led twelve undercover investigations into factory farms and slaughterhouses. Today Krista consults with animal protection organizations across North America on matters of organizational development. In addition to holding five degrees and designations in human resources, she is pursuing her doctorate focused on the employment experiences of animal rights activists.