A recent survey found that a disproportionate number of Quebec's female medical residents are being asked about their parental status or intentions during interviews for post-residency jobs. It’s nobody’s business when or if someone plans to have children. For both men and women, this is a matter of utmost privacy. But it seems that a disproportionate number of Quebec’s female medical residents are being asked this very personal question during interviews for post-residency jobs. In a survey, 30 per cent of women told the Fédération des médecins résidents du Québec that they had been queried on whether they had children already or planned to, versus 14 per cent of men. This line of questioning suggests that female physicians, who are a majority of the new doctors these days, might be somehow less committed to their work. That is insulting. It’s also injurious, if it reflects a prejudice against the hiring of mothers, present or potential. It’s a total anachronism that female doctors are getting asked about whether they have kids or plan to. It harkens to a time when women left the workforce, perhaps permanently, after their children are born. Newsflash: it’s 2016. Women in any field might want or need to take time off after giving birth, whether they are eligible for maternity benefits or not. Female doctors are no less deserving of this precious time to bond with their babies as workers in other careers. The fact more women than men in the medical field are getting asked such questions is also out of step with reality. It supposes male doctors would be less involved in parenting than their female counterparts. It also assumes that female doctors don’t have partners who would help with child-rearing duties. That is sexist. The question also insinuates that female doctors would have difficulty juggling their medical careers and children. What parents don’t struggle with work-family balance, regardless of the work they do? We shouldn’t hold female physicians to a different standard. That’s discriminatory. Such questions also put subtle pressure on women to push back child-bearing. Medical school is already long enough. If women feel they also have to invest more time in their careers before it’s acceptable to have children, it could mean delaying motherhood too long. And that could result in fertility problems, which affect one in six Canadians. That’s unfair. Women who make it through medical school and residency are clearly competent and capable of handling stress. They deserve a little credit that they would be able to manage having children just fine. But the bottom line is, it’s not acceptable to ask this kind of question during an interview for any job, be it for a cashier or a CEO. Source
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