Sportswear giant Nike has responded to criticism it faced over its maternity policy by releasing a new clothes line designed for pregnant women and nursing moms.
The newly-launched line which will be available in September includes a nursing bra and leggings designed to support “women’s relationship with sport during such a transformative time in their lives.”
READ MORE: ‘Kiss of death’: Nike admit pregnant athletes penalized by performance-based sponsorship reductions
The first ever maternity collection was hailed by the majority of customers, however, not everyone was impressed with Nike’s move, outlining that it took the company quite a long time to realize it needed changes.
“Nike didn’t have a maternity line?” one person asked.
“It took them 50 years to realize women get pregnant,” another person commented.
“Surprised that Nike did not have an official maternity leave policy in place for its athletes before recent criticism,” one more comment read.
Nike didn’t have a maternity line? https://t.co/3kD7lRELxP
It took em 50 yrs to realize women get pregnant
Surprised that Nike did not have an official maternity leave policy in place for its athletes before recent criticism.#nike#nytimes”Responding to criticism about its treatment of its sponsored athletes who become pregnant, the…https://t.co/2Yg457Bjhfhttps://t.co/slA6guBGte
Last year the company was in hot water after renowned American women runners including Alysia Montano and Allyson Felix revealed they had sponsorship reductions while pregnant and returning from maternity leave.
Montano also claimed that she was financially penalized by the sponsor due to a decrease in performance when she was competing while eight months pregnant.
Nike admitted that the company had reduced sponsorship pay for female athletes who didn’t meet “specific performance metrics,” including those who were pregnant.
Nike launches a maternity line—after facing criticism for treatment of pregnant athletes https://t.co/xfRJ46vZ9v
The company eventually changed its maternity policy for sponsored athletes, guaranteeing pay and bonuses for 18 months around pregnancy, which is six months more than under the previous policy.
