The majority of Indian companies and recruiters frequently ask female candidates about their marital status. Questions are generally asked like “Are you married?” or “When are you planning to get married?” are posed before female candidates but rarely before male applicants.
Many firms defend this by saying that society mandates a woman to leave their homes and not men, companies want to insulate themselves against the shift.
In a recent survey conducted by Betterhalf.ai, the working youth believes that employees should be hired based on their talent and not marital status. It is the youth’s opinion that marriage and work can continue frictionless.
Commenting on the survey findings, Pawan Gupta, CEO & Co-Founder of Betterhalf.ai said, “Women are breaking the glass ceiling in the workplace across the globe, but practices like these can prevent talented women from finding a job. Marriage affects both men and women, yet men are not subjected to such interview questions. As the tide is turning and progressive organizations are coming to the fore, restricting women’s entry based on their marital status should be discontinued from hiring processes.”
As the findings of the online poll were disclosed that 89% of the respondents believe that both men and women should be financially independent before getting married. On the other hand, only 6% could agree that men should be the sole bread earner. Furthermore, 5% of the respondents believed that women can be breadwinners.
The survey has clearly shown that change is developing in the minds of the young working professionals who believe that financial independence is essential before marriage.
Now as both partners choose to work after marriage there is another challenge that has come to the surface. Nowadays, many couples decide to work together in the same office keeping their personal and professional separate.
Respondents have highlighted their problems in the survey. According to participants, the biggest challenges were bringing office conflict home, lack of personal space, and unclear responsibility at home.
Indian companies today are competing with leading firms of the world in terms of growth and innovation. But when it comes to their mindset, companies still choose to discriminate against female employees based on their marital status and age.
The survey mirrors the mentality of the working youth who believe that employees should be hired based on their talent and not marital status. It is the youth’s opinion that marriage and work can continue frictionless.
