Gabrielle Union: Career Women Without Children Wear A 'Scarlet Letter'

"There's a certain amount of shame that is placed on women who have perhaps chosen a career over starting a family younger."

In a recent interview with Redbook magazine, Gabrielle Union got candid about the struggles many woman face in deciding if and when to start a family.

"The reality is that women are discriminated against in the workplace for being mothers," Union told the magazine for the October 2015 issue. "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.'"

The 42-year-old star married NBA star Dwyane Wade, 33, last year, becoming stepmother to his three children. In Redbook, Union discussed the possibility of having children in the future, and the struggle and stigma many women face when they choose to have children later in life.

"So far, it has not happened for us," she tells Redbook. "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."

Read more over at Redbook.com.

Alexei Hay/Redbook
Alexei Hay/Redbook

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