Business Law Respond to Question: It is true that 40% of employers avoid hiring younger female workers because of the fear of the maternity leave. A survey of 500 managers showed more than 40% admitted they are wary of hiring a woman of childbearing age, but some were more worried of hiring a woman who have already had children or hiring a mother for a senior role. Maternity leave can be a significant financial concern on the company and some companies believe once a female has children they are never the same.
However this way of thinking is historic and a different generation that does not see men and women as equals. These managers are thinking that females start having families in their early to late 20s but that is not the case anymore. With the new generation coming up and entering the work place females are not starting to have families until much later in life, but that does not give a company the right to not hirer somebody because they could one day have children. It is not only stupid to do but also illegal.
If this company were to hirer the male over the female. The female worker is more than welcome to come back to the company and ask why she was not hired. She will find out it was because she wanted to start a family and will be able to sue the company for gender discrimination. There are a lot of cases where people do not go back at the company for a reason of why they were not hired. I work in hiring at my current job and the HR team reminds us constantly how important it is to included why we want a person hired or why we can not hirer them because of all the legal issues.
For the future these a questions that are illegal to ask any female in any interview.
Examples of questions that may discriminate include:
Do you have any children? If so, how many and what are their ages?
Are you single, married, divorced, or engaged?
What kind of childcare arrangements do you have in place?
Are you currently taking any form of birth control or fertility treatment?
What are your plans if you get pregnant?
Does your spouse work? If so, what does your spouse do for a living?
Should we refer to you as Mr., Miss, or Mrs.?