A marketing professional from Delhi has sparked a conversation on LinkedIn after claiming that she was rejected for a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) role, partly due to her having young children.
She also shared a screenshot of her post-interview conversation with one of the company’s human resources personnel, who acknowledged that one of the reasons she was rejected was because she had young children.
The job interview that wasn’t
In a post that has gone viral, Pragya detailed how her 14-minute interview with the promoter of a consumer brand left her surprised and disappointed. According to her LinkedIn post, she spent the first 11 minutes summarising her 11-year-long career – and the only questions she was asked in the remaining three minutes were personal.
Instead of asking about her professional achievements, the promoter of the brand – who was conducting the interview – seemed more interested in her personal life. According to Pragya, the questions he asked her ranged from how many family members she had, the ages of her children, what school they attended, who would take care of them in her absence, how she planned to commute to office (from Delhi to Gurgaon), her husband’s job and so on and so forth.
“And that’s it.. No further questions on my experience, revenue I handled, businesses I grew, industries I worked in, my achievements, my failures, challenging projects I worked on, or amazing work that I have ever delivered. Not even my strengths and weaknesses!” wrote Pragya, adding that she knew right away that she would not land the job.
“I knew the outcome of the call right then,” she wrote.
Rejected for role
The next day, she followed up with HR, only to be told she had been rejected. When she asked for feedback, she was told that her having “very young kids” was one of the reasons.
Pragya, who has previously led Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) initiatives and POSH committees, said the rejection was not what upset her most – it was the lack of a fair, work-focused evaluation. She also expressed concern for other women professionals who may be more vulnerable during job hunts.
“This has happened to many of my friends… They were either overlooked for promotions, given a minimal hike, or put on ‘easy’ projects,” she added. “They are not even given an honest chance, not even a decent interview.”
Pragya concluded her post by highlighting how most senior leadership roles she has engaged with in the past three months, across both startups and legacy firms, continue to be male-dominated.