I heard what he said and I totally agree.
The laws in the US make it illegal for them to ask questions about whether or not you plan to get married or have kids in an interview, much less on a questionnaire. However, you can be sure that the accountants in the all the fortune 500 companies have figured out exactly where the costs are with labor and how to save money. There is a reason the government had to pass the pregnancy discrimination act to protect the following rights:
- Your employer cannot fire you because you are pregnant.
- Your employer cannot force you to take mandatory maternity leave.
- You must be granted the same health, disability, and sick-leave benefits as any other employee who has a medical condition.
- You must be given modified tasks, alternate assignments, disability leave, or leave without pay as needed (this depends on company policy).
- You are allowed to work as long as you can perform your job.
- During your leave, you are guaranteed job security.
- While on leave, you continue to accrue seniority and remain eligible for pay increases and benefits.
Also the Family and Medical leave act requires that all companies with 50 or more employees give a woman having a baby 12 weeks off. However, Mass. requires they give 12 weeks of paid leave, California requires 8 weeks of paid leave, and there are other states as well that offer a variety of options between extra time off and paid leave. Imagine you have a receptionist or a cashier and she winds up having a baby every 18 months over the next six years, having four babies. If this is paid leave you basically paid her for an entire year when she wasn't working.
And that is only the start. I have seen many women have to leave work due to family emergencies, sick child, or some issue with the child at school.
You can be sure that the boss who may have a family is empathetic, but the accountants who count beans are very clear that this woman is much more expensive and far less productive than those single employees who never get married.