The Thing Women Are Doing To Avoid Job Interview Discrimination

Nearly three in ten married or engaged women remove their rings before a job interview, a new survey has found.

Though employers aren't allowed to ask candidates whether they're married or have children, 29% of married or engaged women told Credit Angel that they take off their rings to avoid potential discrimination.

American recruiter Bruce Hurwitz caused a huge controversy two years ago when he wrote an article for LinkedIn titled: "When interviewing for a job, lose the ring!"

The article, which is still online, features the horrifically sexist and backwards advice: "When a man sees that ring he immediately assumes you are high maintenance. When the woman at the office who has the largest diamond on her finger, sees that ring, she will realise that if you are hired she will fall to second place and will, therefore, not like you. Lose the ring!"

Disturbingly, the new survey by Credit Angel also found that 59% of employers believe women should be forced to disclose whether they’re pregnant during the interview process.

Meanwhile, 46% of employers said they think it's acceptable to ask a female candidate if she has young children.

Though the survey is hardly definitive - Credit Angel hasn't revealed its sample size - it does illustrate yet more ways in which women can be penalised in the workplace. Just last week, a woman's Facebook post about the prejudices she faces as a working mum went viral because it struck such a chord with other women balancing work and parenthood.

And at the start of April, the last remaining UK companies with more than 250 employees revealed their gender pay gaps, and the results were predictably dispiriting. Men earn more than women in nearly 80% of UK companies, with the median pay disparity among them standing at 9.8%.