During the interview, women are often the target of illegal hiring questions. Years ago, employers could ask almost any question they wanted of a job candidate. Questions could be asked about marital status, credit history, childbearing plans, and age. Such questions are now illegal. Questions pertaining to marital status, sexual preference, pregnancy, future childbearing plans, unwed motherhood, child care, and the number and ages of children (for example, "Who will look after your child if you are hired?" "Do you have children under the age of five?" "Do you have a boyfriend?" "What form of birth control, if any, do you use?" "If you become pregnant while working would you continue to work?" "Are you married?" "Does your husband support your decision to work?") are illegal.

Employers are allowed to ask questions to learn about a candidate's motivation and personality. Such questions can relate to former job responsibilities and outside interests. However, inquiries into an applicant's sex life are illegal, and this applies to all private employers, employment agencies, labor organizations, and training programs. In addition, each state has its own discrimination laws, which often go further in protecting the rights of female applicants during job interviews.

Job interviews must be conducted in accordance with formal objective guidelines for evaluating a job applicant's qualifications. Skills, experience, motivation, ambition, and interests are generally permissible subjects of preemployment inquiries. However, women are often singled out because of their gender, and it is a violation of Title VII for employers to require information about child care arrangements from female applicants only. Saying to a female applicant, "Joy, given the fact that you've got one child entering kindergarten and another in junior high school, do you really want to take on a job with so much overtime?" is illegal. It is better for the employer to state that the job involves a lot of overtime and ask all applicants if they have a problem working in excess of 40 hours per week.