‘Are you married? Do you have children’ top interview questions to women

Are you married” and “do you have children” are the most frequently asked questions at job interviews of female job seekers in the city, according to the Macao New Chinese Youth Association.

Recently, the association held a seminar discussing the difficulties faced by working women. During the discussion, the association vice president, surnamed Chan, noted that marriage and children seem to have become the most questioned topics during interviews.

Some participants also pointed out that when a female job seeker is not married or does not have children, some prospective employers may prefer to hire male employees in consideration of operating costs, which may increase if the company hires this demographic of job seekers. 

More than 10 female participants said they are unwilling to be a full-time mother at home.

One of the participants, surnamed Choi, said that men should share more family responsibilities with women at home. She suggested that women should not give up their careers just because of their children.

Lawmaker Wong Kit Cheng also agreed that, as a nurse, she thought that giving birth to a child is the natural obligation of women, but she also thought that women’s lives should not be defined by their children. She expressed her hope that local men could understand more about the circumstances of local women.

Another participant, Si Nei Na, voiced that the ideal time for women to have children is between 25 and 35. She thinks that the Macau government should adopt policy changes for matters of fertility, such as improving Macau’s fertility medicine and reducing the costs of giving birth. She wants the local government to help women become aware of potential fertility problems, and to increase the number of indoor facilities for children. JZ