"How do you feel leaving behind your kids at home?"
No matter what position you hold in an office, if you are a working mother you get asked this always. Society's teaching that a woman should take care of the house is so deeply embedded in individuals that they can't stop themselves from asking this, no matter how irrelevant it is. Asking a mother how she feels like leaving her kids behind at home when she is at work, is a way of underestimating her talent and limiting her roles.
"Isn't family more important to you?"
This is another subtle way of pulling down a woman's ambition. You constantly put it in her mind that for her career is secondary and her family is first. Women are reminded of this every single time they dream of pursuing their passion. What society fails to understand is that a woman can be a CEO and a good mother at the same time!
"Did you marry late and had kids much later?"
Women who choose career over everything often marry at a late age. Though this is not the case with every such woman, marriage takes a back seat when career is the priority for many. Asking such women about their late marriage is minimizing their capabilities and reducing them.
"Did your husband allow you to work?"
Well, a woman who steps out of her house to work has a husband who allowed her to work; even if it is not the case in every house, at least many in society see it that way. A woman's career is a possibility only if her man gives permission for it, many think.
"Is your salary more than your husband's?"
In many families, a woman's job is seen side by side with her husband's. If her salary is less or much less than her husband's, which is mostly the case due to the faulty wage structure everywhere, her job is questioned. "Then what is the need to work? If you are earning less, it is better to stay at home," many women are asked.
"If you loved working so much, why did you have kids in the first place?"
Every working mother faces this question several times. Whenever there is an issue with the kid, the mother is seen as the reason for that. A mother is held accountable for her kid's failure. Her career and ambition are mocked. A mother’s success is only measured by her kid’s success.
"How much time do you spend with your kids?"
This is the most painful question every mother faces. It is very difficult to part with kids and nobody knows this better than an individual who is not just a successful employee in the office but also a wonderful mother at heart. Never ask this to a woman; don't make her remember the pain.
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