- A third of women remove rings when it isn’t necessarily normal to do so
- Of those, 35% remove them at work and 29% at job interviews
- 22% do so when out socialising
- More than half who ditch ring when socialising do so to appear single
By Deni Kirkova
PUBLISHED: 10:57 EST, 18 October 2013 | UPDATED: 11:00 EST, 18 October 2013
One in three married or engaged women in the UK admit to remove their wedding or engagement ring in certain situations.
The top reason for removal is ‘fear of damaging employment or job progression prospects’, while alarmingly for their partners, wanting to appear single was also a motivating factor for many.
The married and engaged respondents, who were all aged 18 and over, were asked to exclude practical, every day reasons for having to remove their jewellery – such as when showering or doing housework.
Hiding a relationship: Many women fear an employer will judge their marital status
Just over a third of the 1,712 women questioned said they removed their wedding or engagement rings when it wasn’t necessarily normal to do so.
When asked to elaborate on what exactly these situations causing ‘ring removal’ were, the most common situations were at work (35 per cent), when attending job interviews (29 per cent), and when out socialising (22 per cent).
Of those who claimed to remove their wedding or engagement ring at work 62 per cent explained they did so because they were afraid that the ‘signal of my relationship status would harm my career or job prospects’.
Jewellery free for an interview: 71 per cent thought showing they were engaged or married would hinder their chances of getting the job
The same went for those who removed their rings when attending a job interview, with 71 per cent admitting they felt the ‘signal of my relationship status would harm my chances of getting the job.’
Even in modern times, many women still firmly believe that they are pigeon-holed by their relationship status
The majority, 55 per cent, of those who had removed their ring in these work-related situations claimed their employer or interviewer was a woman.
Those who admitted to removing their ring through fear of damaging work or employment prospects were asked why they felt this way.
Three quarters said they feared having an engagement or wedding ring on show would make employers think they wouldn’t stay in the job long because they planned to start a family.
A fifth removed their ring in order to avoid their age being assumed by employers – which they felt could lead to ‘limited progression prospects’.
Cheating in mind: Most of those who remove ring when socialising do so as they ‘want to appear single’
Almost two thirds admitted they felt a women’s career progression was often hindered by their relationship status, should they get married or start a family.
Of those who claimed to remove their ring when out socialising, 59 per cent, confessed they did so to appear single. Just 8 per cent claimed the reason was fearing they would lose their ring.
Of those who wanted to appear single, 56 per cent explained that they didn’t want members of the opposite sex to ‘treat them differently’ when out, and so removed their ring to avoid this.
But more than one in ten, 11 per cent, openly admitted that they did so in order to cheat on their partner.
‘Engagement and wedding rings signify so much more than simply a marriage – they’re a signal of our life plan’
And of all respondents who claimed to remove their wedding or engagement ring, just 9 per cent claimed that their partner was aware of them doing so.
Ali O’Neill, from comparejewellery.com who conducted the survey, said of the findings: ‘It seems that a fair few women in the UK are “ring removers”, but the reasons why were incredibly interesting – with fear about the connotations that the ring holds when it comes to employment prospects being the most common factor.
‘Even in modern times, many women still firmly believe that they are pigeon-holed by their relationship status – fearing fewer opportunities should they be viewed as likely to swan off to start a family, and so take their ring off to avoid this happening.’
She added: ‘Whether this be the case or not, it’s clear that these kind of stereotypes are still a problem in the workplace. It’s clear from our results that engagement and wedding rings signify so much more than simply a marriage – they’re a signal of our life plan. Whether or not others take note of the rings, as many women believe, remains to be seen.
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