Maternity Fears Halt Job Success For Women

Over the past few months at TheLadders.co.uk we have been conducting a study to find out which gender is better at job interviews and the results have been eye-opening. We found that women overwhelmingly outperform men in interviews, however this does not guarantee job success, as the fear of maternity can be the ultimate barrier in securing a top role.

We polled 500 British bosses, half women and half men, and found that 59% think women perform better at interviews. They also have better presentation, communication, motivation skills, understand companies and cultures better, are more thorough, affable and better able to balance multiple tasks. Unfortunately all these positive attributes can’t outweigh the fact that they may leave a company to start a family, as nearly half of senior executives we spoke to said women will not get the top job due to the fear of them becoming mothers.

Our findings also revealed that women out-do their male counterparts in 11 out of 18 criteria necessary for successful job meetings. The senior management we surveyed also said the top three considerations in choosing the right candidate are qualifications, company fit and personality. Women deliver these best at interview too, with 59% of bosses saying they present their skills more effectively, 63.9% think women understand the company culture and 72.3% find women more affable and personable in an interview situation.

But when we asked why there are not as many women securing these top jobs 42.7% of respondents said it was because they fear that women will leave to have children. 54% agree that there simply aren’t as many female candidates as male ones and 51% say that society just expects men to be in leadership roles. Surprisingly 38% feel that there is still inherent sexism in the workplace.

It doesn’t stop there though as over one quarter of the executives we spoke to believe men are rewarded for being more committed than women in their jobs. 45% say that women are simply less assertive when it comes to negotiating the top jobs and top salaries and 44.7% feel that lower pay and recognition for women is part of business stereotyping.

Derek Pilcher, Managing Director of TheLadders.co.uk agrees with many respondents who say that whilst women are as qualified as men for senior positions, they simply aren’t applying. “This could be for a number of reasons which may well include the belief that men dominate the top jobs and this scares women from going for interview. Yet women obviously shine at interview and as such should be securing the top jobs when they apply. What is concerning is the un-spoken reasons for not employing women, and in particular the fear of losing female management after they have had children. This too may be seriously impacting the number of women who make it through to leadership roles.”

Do you think the likelihood of becoming a Mother should affect the chances of women getting jobs? Have you experienced this before? Tell us your thoughts