Texas Commission on Environmental Quality

"I've worked here for 1 year, and there are many women working here, including in management and executive roles. Generally, it seems women are treated fairly, and the broad agency policies regarding alternate work hours, flexible schedules, lactation rooms, and work-family balance are fairly progressive for the State of Texas. However, approval of all these policies are at the discretion of departmental management, which can be a gamble. Women in our division have returned from maternity leave only to turn in their 2-week notice - they discover they cannot afford to pay for child care on a salary that does not keep up with cost of living (most employees here have 2nd jobs), they have run into difficulty arranging alternate schedules through management, or they have no available vacation or sick time left after the allowable 12-week maternity leave. It is also important to note that promotions and pay raises are based on tenure, not merit, which puts women who have taken time off for maternity leave during their time at the agency at an immediate disadvantage."