While we continue to wage the war against the gender pay gap, it comes as no real surprise that one in three women remove their wedding ring before a job interview.
The findings, published by Credit Angel in the UK, found that 29 per cent of married women attempt to remove any discrimination to do with marital status or potential pregnancy plans by removing their rings.
The original study, which surveyed 1,712 women, found that 71 per cent of participants admitted that they felt the “signal of my relationship status would harm my chances of getting the job.”
When asked why they felt this was the case, three quarters said they worried employers would fear they were wanting to start a family and that it could lead to ‘limited progression prospects’.
Alarmingly Credit Angel also reports that 59 per cent of employers in the UK believe applicants should be required to disclose when they are pregnant.
And Australian employers are no more enlightened.
In 2014-15, 35 per cent of discrimination complaints to the Fair Work ombudsman were pregnancy-related, which amounted to the largest category of complaints (the next biggest were disability-related complaints at 19 per cent).
A 2014 review by the Australian Human Rights Commission found nearly half of mothers reported workplace discrimination while pregnant, on leave, or returning to work after maternity leave.
Almost one in five mothers said they were made redundant, their jobs were re-structured or their contracts were not renewed.
It’s dispiriting news for those of us with a womb, regardless of whether or not we intend to use it any time soon.
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