A shameful practice

After failing 41 job interviews, a resident of Wuhan, Hubei province, guessed that she was being discriminated against by potential employers because of her marital status — married but without any child — so she decided to conceal the fact to get a job. Many netizens have narrated similar tales, says an article in Chongqing Morning Post. Excerpts:

The Wuhan resident couldn’t find favor with any of the potential employers not because she is not qualified enough but because she is married but doesn’t yet have a child. That she is married but doesn’t have a child means she is eligible for a three-month maternity leave after being recruited, during which the employer has to pay her salary and welfare benefits.

Since companies without a sense of social responsibility see this as a financial loss and, therefore, are reluctant to recruit women like the Wuhan resident, many women have had to choose between a job and a child.

Many woman workers in a condition similar to the Wuhan resident’s find it difficult to land a job. To protect women’s reproductive rights, laws such as the Labor Law and the Law on the Protection of Rights and Interests of Women advocate “fair employment” and make discrimination in recruitment a punishable offense. For example, employers should not discriminate against woman employees, irrespective of their marital, social or ethnic status.

We can understand that employers want to lower personnel cost and increase productivity. But they should not infringe on the legitimate rights of women to get a job. Through enhanced annual supervision and inspection, the authorities should make sure that employers stop using unreasonable rules to recruit employees and that qualified candidates get jobs.