When I returned from maternity leave, I was ready to dive back into work. I’d always been the dependable one — five years at the company, promoted through grit and late nights, praised for being the kind of employee who never said no.

But motherhood changed how they saw me. Suddenly, my child’s cry during a Zoom call became a problem. My need for notice before late meetings made me “inflexible.” When my paycheck was late and I asked why, my manager shrugged and said,