Nonot only skills, experiences, professional prospects. In job interviews, at a certain point, another question arises, entirely private and absolutely inappropriate. The one about motherhood. The intention of wanting to give birth to a child or the presence of a child at home sucks energy are still considered insurmountable obstacles to a female career. This is the result of a survey conducted by People Management on a sample of over 2,000 English managers, but we can imagine even worse results in Italy. According to the survey, 40% of women were asked inappropriate questions. Often, during the interview, the mother candidates also felt obliged to justify the “career gaps”, periods in which they did not work.
“Do you have children? Do you want some?” The (illegal) questions that 4 out of 10 female managers are asked at job interviews
But asking this type of question is discriminatory and liable to prosecution. In Great Britain, for the Equality Act. But these questions are also illegal in Italy, for the Code of Equal Opportunities between men and women – Legislative Decree 198/2006. Article 27 he says it clearly. It is forbiddenta «any discrimination as regards access to employment, as an employee, self-employed or in any other form, including selection criteria and conditions of employment, as well as promotion […] at all levels of the professional hierarchy”. A prohibited discrimination “even if implemented through reference to marital or family status or pregnancy”.
What is certain is that, apart from the illegality of the question, a company that also raises the issue of children presents itself very badly. Candidate warned, candidate saved.
Giving up a career after the first child
The issue, at least in England, is less serious for women who do not hold senior roles: again according to the same study, only 18% of them said they had received the same questions during the company recruitment process. However, as many as two thirds of working mothers said they had to give up a professional career after having children. Also, 45% of the women interviewed stated that the time off due to maternity proved to be precious and allowed them to acquire new skills, such as organizational skills and time management.
Small guide to recognize a virtuous company
Discriminatory situations are still the order of the day, this is evident. But something is changing in the world of work, even in Italy. More and more companies rely on consulting firms to create an inclusive and positive environment. Laura Tolosi, mother and Communication Manager of Eudaimon, which does just that. «Maternity, and how the employer manages it, represents an important moment of verification of how and if the company is managing to achieve its goal».
So what does a virtuous and truly inclusive company do? «Inform the expectant mother first of all about all rights that he has and will have following the arrival of the children. After maternity, it guarantees and greater structure flexibility in the path back to work. And it invests in services and solutions that allow a constant balancing work and family responsibilities». Thus extinguishing in the bud «the fears, unfortunately often motivated, of being replaced or demoted after first pregnancy.
Work and women: the charter of flexibility
According to a survey conducted by Career into Motherhood out of over 2,000 UK working mothers with children under the age of 18, 92% said their employer was receptive to flexibility requests, but still there are situations of negative responses to requests. Nearly 4 in 10 working moms (38%) have not asked for any flexible working and 46% believe that asking for flexibility has a negative impact on future promotion and career opportunities.
In this sense, innovative flexible working models can become an important option for improving work-life balance. In the United Kingdom, 92% of companies that have experimented with the four-day work week have decided to adopt it as a stable measure, given the excellent results obtained.
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