Women are better at job interviews, according to U.K. poll

Updated

Do women perform better at job interviews? British bosses polled by TheLadders.co.uk seem to think so. A survey of 500 bosses in the U.K. found that 59% agree that women make a better impression during job interviews than men.

Of the bosses polled by the career site, 81% said that women are more thorough and thoughtful during interviews than men, 76% said they have better communication skills, 76% said women are more truthful, and 81% said women have better qualifications. The survey also found that 61% said women are better team players and 72% said they are more personable.

So if women do so well at interviews, why are the top jobs at most companies still dominated by men? Apparently many bosses believe that women who get promoted to top spots will eventually leave to have children. TheLadders.co.uk found that 51% of bosses said society just expects men to be in positions of leadership, 54% said there aren't enough female candidates and 38% said workplaces are still sexist.

Women also were said to be less assertive when it comes to going after top jobs and salaries. "This could be for a number of reasons which may well include the belief that men dominate the top jobs and this scares women from going for interview," according to Derek Pilcher, managing director of TheLadders.co.uk. "Yet women obviously shine at interview and as such should be securing the top jobs when they apply. What is concerning is the unspoken reasons for not employing women, and in particular the fear of losing female management after they have had children. This, too, may be seriously impacting the number of women who make it through to leadership roles."

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