Job Commitment and Recent Motherhood Mutually Exclusive?

This story suggests to avoid job interviewing while pregnant, a disappointing contention.  From the London Evening Standard:

A City law firm was today hit by fresh accusations of sexism.

The claims came from a former senior lawyer at Eversheds who spoke out after a colleague's email asked how a job applicant who had recently given birth could be questioned on her “commitment”.

Stewart Shackleton, 51, who was co-head of the international arbitration group, resigned in a dispute linked to the email last month. Today he claimed the firm ordered a secret investigation into the woman's background when she applied for the job, while carrying out no checks on male rivals.

Mr Shackleton also said it was “inaccurate” for the firm to claim it had investigated and dealt with the email from Stuart Dutson “swiftly and decisively”. In fact, the issues remained unresolved when he quit the firm on 26 January, he said.

It was revealed that Mr Dutson had emailed Mr Shackleton and a colleague last June to ask: “This lady has recently had a child. Are there any guidelines on how we can ask questions properly designed to identify her commitment, hours she is prepared to do, how she will balance work and a child?”

Read the rest here.

MR