A Reddit publish has ignited discussions about hiring biases in India, notably in opposition to married professionals. The publish, shared by an nameless person, alleges that candidates—particularly software program engineers, product managers, strategists, and senior advertising and marketing and gross sales executives—are regularly requested about their marital standing throughout interviews, typically resulting in rejection in the event that they affirm they’re married.
The person claims that this development has grow to be more and more widespread in interviews. “After clearing the fundamental rounds, somebody from the management group casually asks, ‘Are you married?’ and most of the people I do know have misplaced the chance simply because they stated sure,” the Redditor wrote.
Whereas such questions are thought-about inappropriate and even unlawful in lots of international locations, the publish means that they’ve been normalised in India’s job market. It ties this problem to broader office expectations, together with the extensively mentioned “90-100 hour work week” tradition. Employers, the publish hints, could understand married professionals as much less versatile or obtainable for lengthy hours in comparison with their single counterparts.
The dialogue additionally touches on systemic flaws in India’s job market, with the Redditor arguing that the nation’s concentrate on cost-cutting and repair provision, somewhat than worth creation, has intensified hiring pressures. “However we’re well past that when we’ve normalised asking present and expertise salaries earlier than the interviews. The issue is there are too many candidates, and as a rustic, we didn’t concentrate on creating worth. We centered on undercutting and repair offering,” they added.
The publish has sparked debate amongst customers, with some corroborating related experiences and others defending firms’ proper to evaluate candidates’ availability and long-term dedication. “The reply to this query is all the time no. Even if you’re married say no. Then after they discover out, you’ll be able to simply say that you just couldnt hear correctly in the course of the name. And also you heard the interviewer ask are you “anxious”. And also you responded with ‘No’,” a person replied.
Regardless, it highlights ongoing issues about hiring biases and work-life steadiness expectations in India’s company sector.
