Employers dont prefer to hire women. They know that the woman is more likely to go on maternity leave, so if the employer is choosing between a man and a woman that are equally qualified, then he will choose the man.

I agree with shout aloud employers most certainly do not prefer to hire women , also being a single mother could get you killed in some countries and certainly is not advantageous when looking for employment to state one is a single mother .

Women are certainly discriminated against worldwide when it comes to the highest paid jobs where men seem to receive the best positions and highest salaries .

I've often thought women are more mercenary than men when it comes to getting what they want ; how many times have you seen incredibly attractive but not rich women marrying desperately ugly guys who happen to be very wealthy ?

Rich women rarely fall for this ploy and mostly reject penniless good looking guys .

Men dominate , politics ,big business and most the positions of real power in most countries worldwide ...

It's a good question

I think Shout hit the nail on the head with that one. The typical reasoning is that women who are looking to start a family will have their time divided between work and family life. She will need maternity leave, in the event her children are sick she is typically expected to be the care giver to take care of them, any issues she has during pregnancy will also need to be addressed up to and including special accommodations and additional FMLA leave. Not to mention extra doctor's appointments and the like.

Employers don't really want all that which can make finding employment, especially as a middle aged woman, very difficult. Men are seen as a more valuable commodity at that point.