“I have spoken to people who have said they'd remove engagement or wedding rings
before going into a job interview.
Has it become so bad that we perceive ourselves as having to almost lie in
order not to be judged as falling into a certain stereotype? I.e. She is
engaged and will therefore be married and have kids within a year so she’s not
worth employing?”
In an ideal world the answer would be to wear your rings; the law is in
place to protect you and make sure that you will not be discriminated against
so you should have nothing to worry about.
The problem is we don’t live in an ideal world. And whilst if you did face discrimination in a
job interview because your prospective employers suspected you were newly
married and about to start a family you could take legal action, but first of all, you would have to know that was the reason for their
decision.
Secondly, you would need to be
able to prove it. Neither of which
are particularly easy to do.
Even if you could prove it, the expense of a court case, in terms of
finance, time and mental well-being is high and the pay-outs are low - if you
take away the few big pay-outs that are awarded, you find an average of £3/4k.
So what then should you do?
If you need a job, don’t care what job is and just have to pay the
mortgage now…then it might be best to leave the ring at home. You see, it’s not
just that some people do not employ “women of child bearing age” (a phrase we
have heard more often that we would like to admit) or those who are recently
married. Although this direct
discrimination is common, it is not the only thing you need to worry about; there
is also the problem of inherent bias - subconsciously a lot of people think
mums will take more time off, not be fully committed and generally fall short
of the work a man can do. It doesn't matter that research has found the
opposite to be true and it doesn't matter that you don’t want children; you
look like you might have them and, to the under-educated, that makes you a risk
not an asset.
If, on the other hand, you have a bit more choice and don’t need to take
the first job that comes towards you; wear the ring . You see if you take a job
with an employer who does not understand the business argument for equality and
supporting working parents, it is likely that you will eventually find out
about it (even if you never have children). If you do, this may be made
apparent by being given lesser roles and responsibilities and possibly being
made to feel unwanted if, and when, you do conceive. If you have the luxury of
being able to take the risk let the employer self-select. This will enable you
to find yourself an employer who “gets it”, one who knows the importance of
supporting and retaining key talent – and don’t just do this because you’ll get
extra maternity pay. It goes further
than that - a supportive working environment is more likely to retain key
people which has a positive effect on profit; meaning that this is the company
more likely to be around in ten or twenty years’ time.
The changes in law mean that men can now take paternity leave so the
risk is there - male or female - and with an increasing number of men becoming
the main or sole carer, the point should be that the questions and assumptions
are made of all or none; failing to do this is denying someone an opportunity
because of their gender, not because of their family status. A company deciding
to discriminate is doing so despite the fact that it is illegal; whatever your
moral position, they are in the wrong.
Happy Building,
Chrissi x
