There is actually a third side to this situation………..
Economic Reality Check…from the school’s perspective.
When we were first married, Mrs. CT Lawyer taught first grade for two years at a local day school. She finished the second year and gave birth to our eldest child two weeks later.
She was a stay at home mom, B”H we didn’t need her income. 25 years later, when our youngest was in high school, wife decided she missed being with children and applied to teach 2nd grade at the same day school The same family runs the school, the son of the previous previous director is now menahel. My wife has a teaching certificate, classroom experience and a Master’s Degree in early childhood education.
She didn’t get the job, the Menahel explained to her: We want young female teachers who will get married, get pregnant and leave. Teachers who are through having babies, gain seniority and expect more than starting salaries (yearly raises, benefits, etc.) Illegal, yes, but who’s going to take this to court and ruin the school/Rabbi’s reputation.
The irony is that in 1964, when I turned 10 (youngest child), my mother A”L with 10 year’s public school teaching experience and a Doctorate in Education applied for a teaching position in the New Haven Public Schools. The Superintendent told her that she was the most qualified for the job, but he only hired young Yale Wives, because they either left to have babies or their husbands graduated and they moved on. He didn’t want mature married woman who’d stay 30 or 40 years until retirement gaining tenure and salary increases. Mom took a position in a neighboring town and 5 years later when the Superintendent was gone, she was hired as a Principal and stayed for 25 years. When she retired they were able to hire 4 teachers for the total she was earning each year.