According to 42 year old American actress Gabrielle Union, women who choose their careers over starting a family while they are young are facing an alarming rate of pressure to get pregnant. She revealed this in a recent interview with Redbook magazine. She also talked about trying IVF with her husband basketball star Dwayne Wade.
On IVF and the pressures of trying for a family later in life:
“So far, it has not happened for us. A lot of my friends deal with this. There’s a certain amount of shame that is placed on women who have perhaps chosen a career over starting a family younger. The penance for being a career woman is barrenness. You feel like you’re wearing a scarlet letter.”
On being married to a younger man…
“I realized his friends, his teammates, were conceived when I was, like, a senior in high school. I was in high school at the same time as their parents! Sometimes he’ll be like, ‘Oh, my God, he’s so old!’ about someone who’s 35. But, Dwayne’s an old 33, and I’m a young 42, so it balances out.”
On how hard it is for working women with children…
“The reality is that women are discriminated against in the workplace for being mothers. As much as there are strides being made – you get pregnant, your career takes a hit. You can’t have a bad day. Don’t you dare cry at work. Don’t raise your voice. Especially if you’re a black woman in corporate America—now you’re ‘the angry black woman.'”