'No questions about my achievements': Delhi woman claims she was denied CMO role over having kids. See post

Her post concluded with a reflection on the broader gender imbalance in corporate leadership hiring processes.

A marketing professional from Delhi has ignited a widespread conversation on LinkedIn after alleging that she was rejected for a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) role, in part due to being a mother to young children. Her post, which included a screenshot of her follow-up communication with the company's HR team, has since gone viral and drawn attention to ongoing biases against working mothers in corporate leadership hiring.

The candidate, Pragya, shared her experience on LinkedIn, stating that the interview process was both brief and personally intrusive. According to her post, the interview lasted just 14 minutes, with 11 minutes dedicated to her summarising her 11-year-long career. The remaining three minutes, however, veered into her personal life.

Rather than discussing her professional accomplishments, the interviewer — reportedly the promoter of the consumer brand in question — focused on questions unrelated to her career. Pragya stated that she was asked, “How many family members do you have?”, “How old are your kids?”, “Which school do they go to?”, “Who will look after them when you’re at work?”, and “How will you commute from Delhi to Gurgaon?” She was also questioned about her husband’s job and overall family dynamics.

“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!” she wrote in her post. “I knew the outcome of the call right then.”

The following day, Pragya followed up with the company’s human resources representative, only to be informed that she had been rejected. When she requested feedback on the decision, the HR official responded, acknowledging that “very young kids” were one of the reasons she had not been selected.

Pragya, who has previously led Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) initiatives and has served on POSH (Prevention of Sexual Harassment) committees, said it was not the rejection itself that upset her most — but rather the absence of a fair, competency-based evaluation.

“This has happened to many of my friends,” she added. “They were either overlooked for promotions, given a minimal hike, or put on 'easy' projects. They are not even given an honest chance, not even a decent interview.”

Her post concluded with a reflection on the broader gender imbalance in corporate leadership hiring processes. “Most senior leadership roles I have engaged with in the past three months, across both startups and legacy firms, continue to be male-dominated,” she noted.