One of the biggest problems in today’s society that is causing separation is discrimination based on looks. The virtual of people is constantly decreasing due to greed and selfishness. Discrimination is defined as unfair. In Greenhouse article,” Going for the Look, but Risking Discrimination.” Marshal Cohen says that there is nothing wrong with hiring people that fit a company’s image. Therefore, there are people who find what Cohen says as just good business sense, but many people would be excluded from employment based on not fitting the company’s image, so it is a bad policy. A strong work ethic is important to a company achieving its goal. While other companies look for personal image as a work ethic to achieve their goals. In this case, employers shouldn’t hire people based on looks rather than there working abilities. Looks shouldn’t be the first steps of hiring a person. In Greenhouse article, Mr. Serrano a former assistant Abercrombie store manager said,” If …show more content…
People are not applying for modeling job. It feels like companies would rather hire an attractive person over a hardworking unattractive person. Mr. Serrano mentioned in the article,” If that person said, ‘I never worked in retailing before,’ we said: ‘Who cares? We’ll hire you.’ But if someone came in who had lots of retail experience and not a pretty face, we were told not to hire them at all.”(2). He brings up a great example of how discrimination is being applied. People know that discrimination isn’t illegal, but it doesn’t mean it should be done. Instead of big companies using discrimination as part of hiring an employee they should follow through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to be fairly equal to those applying for a job. This being said, discrimination shouldn’t be an encouragement because it will lead to negative
Today’s job seeker has tough competition. In the textbook reading “Judging by the Cover” by Bonny Gainley, she argues that job seekers ought to be careful when they make personal choices that initially will affect their chances of entering the workplace. People have a need to be accepted by others just the way they are, but many of us were taught as adolescence that we should not judge a book by its cover, yet people judge others solely on their personal appearances. That goes for businesses as well, “[t]he bottom line is that businesses exist to make money. Whether it seems fair or not, generally employers do care about the personal appearances of the people they hire because those people represent the business to its customers” (5). Maybe
In today’s job market, there are many reasons an individual could be turned down for employment. According to Deborah Rhodes, author of “Why looks are the last bastion of discrimination”, appearance should not be one of them. Rhodes is a law professor at Stanford and holder of numerous titles for her outstanding work in legal matters. She is also the author and co-author of over 250 articles (Directory). In this article, she addresses an issue with profound impact on today’s society. She proposes that appearance discrimination should be included in anti-discrimination laws in addition to what is already accepted and legalized in today’s workplace. While it is a seemingly “silly” concern, it is actually quite valid. There has been many a concern over discrimination. That is, discrimination based on race, color, gender, and others of a similar nature in the work environment.
Many companies are using new techniques to attract modern day society. One of these techniques is revising their hiring practices. Instead of hiring based on intelligence, or skill sets, they desire employees with “the look”. Companies want people that represent their product or brand. In the article, “Going for the Look, But Risking Discrimination” by Steven Greenhouse, the store Abercrombie and Fitch hire people with a “classic American” look. However, there are many problems that can arise with this. Marshall Cohen, a senior industry analyst, claims that companies are forced to do what is necessary. I disagree with this statement. Companies that hire based on looks are risking more they assume.
Hosoda, M., Stone-Romero, E. F., & Coats, G. “The effects of physical attractiveness on job-related outcomes: A meta-analysis of experimental studies”. Personnel Psychology, 56 (2003): 431-462.
In the realm of work the appearance of someone’s body has a significant impact on their success according to Lorber and Yancey. In the text it was emphasized how height is idealized in the work world because it shows authority and being superior to peers and competition. Weight, height, race and jaw shape all are characteristics that have been observed to play a particular role in decision-making for leaders, e.g. the men with looks far from ideal had rarely moved up in military status in comparison to those with more idealized looks (253).
In the case study “If Looks Could Kill”, the hiring process is down to three candidates: Jamal, Tanya, and Darrell. The Hiring committee has to decide which candidate to rule out. All of the committee members agree that this is a difficult decision expect for one. One member of the committee speaks up and says that they think Darrell has to be the one ruled out because of his poor looks. The decision to rule out Darrell based on his looks is the main ethical issue. There are also a few secondary issues that include the student’s reaction to Darrell after his teaching demonstration, the study on physical attractiveness and success, and the question one weather or not physical attractiveness should be a deciding factor on weather or not to hire someone. Below is a chart that includes an analysis of options the hiring committee can make and the people affected by the decision.
Melissa Nelson, a dental assistant in Iowa, experienced her workplace to be a place where she was judged by her looks and not by her skill level. She was fired because her boss thought that she was too attractive and too threatening to his marriage. Therefore, she was fired for her appearance, not because she did something wrong (Kimmel). An article in The Washington Post expresses beauty’s role in work perfectly: just like goldilocks’ porridge, you can’t be too unattractive or too beautiful, you have to be just right (Rampell). Ms. Nelson’s experience is proof that beauty is not all it’s cracked up to be at
In a growing world, relying on education and intelligence, judgments in a social environment are still continuously based off of appearance. A study of the importance of outer looks was produced through a TV game show. Contestants fought to answer questions correctly to improve their personal score. At the end of the game, the player with the highest score was asked to eliminate a team member. Although many times an unattractive player would have higher scores and could be more beneficial than another teammate, only 27% of unattractive members were chosen to advance to the next round (Belot, Bhaskar, and van de Ven 852-853). When society overlooks qualities and characteristics of high value for looks, discrimination conquers.
There has always been a certain status quo when it comes down to getting hired in todays’ society. Many people do not realize that there can be many qualities derived from those who are different than the “norm”. With the workforce rapidly growing there is a demand for acceptance that can no longer be avoided. America has become the melting pot of the world, but there is still a lot of resistance against people who do not look like the average worker. In this paper, I will analyze the different barriers faced by the “outcasts” and how companies should approach these situations.
If employers began to discriminate on the basis of looks, society could start categorizing fat, unattractive, or unusual looking people as failures and avoid encouraging these people to reach for their goals. Self esteem would be at an all time low.
How would you feel if you were told you were not good enough for a job based on your skin color? Or how would you feel if you were constantly offended, and bits and pieces of your culture was being twisted into something horrible like a stereotype? Probably really frustrated, right? Well, this is the fate of many African American models, and women of color today in the world of fashion. Racism is rampant in the fashion industry. According to Dalton Conley author of “You May Ask Yourself”, ‘Racism is the belief that members of separate races possess different and unequal traits’. Unfortunately, most of the models who walk runway shows, and who are in high end fashion print advertisements are Caucasian. This causes
This essay elaborates on the importance of physical appearance of an individual as a criterion for personal development and success in a career.
As the practice is becoming increasingly popular, mainstream acceptance has given birth to a society that values appearance over ability and ultimately leading on to discrimination in practically every field. There is an overwhelming amount of evidence that indicates that appearance has become a vital contributor of success at the workplace and even in educational institutions for that matter. A study by researchers from Rice University and the University of Houston indicated that candidates with facial scars and blemishes faced lower odds of being remembered by their interviewers which lowered their ratings and evaluations (as cited in ...
...th their appearance but when it comes to having and keeping the job, it is the employers basis on who and how you are as a person. A person’s physical appearance reflects oneself, how he or she carries himself or herself. It shows how confident the person is. With professional appearance, it could higher your chances of getting hired, keeping your job, good customer service, and most importantly a positive outlook on yourself.
Employment discrimination legislation has evolved to include race, disabilities, sexual harassment of either gender, and age. In lieu of this evolution and an increasing trend toward equality for all individuals in the workplace, the time has come for the protective reach of employment discrimination law to cover ugliness. While the proposal may cause titters at first, evidence exists that discrimination based on looks (or physical appearance) occurs in the workplace. An investigation was conducted by ABC’s 20/20 news program in 1994 that sent two men and two women into the workplace to secure the same jobs (Sessions 1). The individuals were coached to act in a similar manner during the interviews and took with them resumes with matching education and experience. The only difference was that one of the men and one of the women was superior in physical attraction to their counterpart. The results demonstrate whether intentional or not, looks discrimination does play a role in the employment process “In five cases out of five, the more attractive woman got the job; in three chances out of three, the more attractive man was hired” (Sessions 1).