Six in ten bosses think women should have to tell a potential employer if she is pregnant, according to research from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).
The survey of 1,106 senior decision makers found that 44% of employers agree that women should work for an organisation for at least a year before deciding to have children, and almost half (46%) of employers agree it is reasonable to ask women if they have young children during the recruitment process.
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W
If employers were allowed to ask about your family situation at interview where would it stop? How is your fertility as were keen to employ people who aren't going to be taking time off to have kids? Are you in a stable relationship as we don't want emotionally fragile people in this role if you're likely to have a break up? Are you parents elderly as we don't want people taking too much time off to care for relatives etc Where would it stop?
K
Now consider those same employers who moan in 20 yrs time that they cant get staff because the birth rate of replacement is too low and the fact the economy is suffering due to not enough young people to support an older population, in addition to the lack of audience for the very products they are likely trying to sell!
Elle
Maybe it is time we start asking all male candidates if they plan to discriminate, sexually harass or bully an employee or colleague. From my experience all the costly and reputational troubles I have ever had to deal with have been due to male employees bullying, sexually harrasing or dicriminating against female or male employees/ colleagues.
Chris26
Rach
Just think of all those skills mothers (and fathers) have of organising, planning, negotiation and "office politics" (thinking of the times being polite and nice to parents that I really don't want interaction for myself or my child with and those discussions with the school teacher/childminder when getting reports of bad behaviour)
I had my child after just over a year in a role and returned to the full time middle-manager role before the year of maternity leave I was entitled to finished....because I wanted to.
I am also very lucky that my partner and our families have been very supportive and I have needed very little time off for childhood illnesses - I think less than two weeks in total in my child's first seven years of life.
I even tell interviewers that I have child and confirm the support I have around to be working full time. I am honest at the get go as I want them to understand that I have priorities outside of work, I would like flexibility in my role to allow time for school plays/sport days (which I make the hours up for).
However I did have a bad situation that when I was pregnant, my boss was not very supportive. In the interviews for my maternity cover remarked the role was potentially for 12 months but could be made perm depending on if I returned...this was in front of me!