Admiral Beez
Superstar
When I started working in the mid-1990s, we sometimes received resumes from young people in Europe (mostly women from France) who were attending an international school, and wanted to work for us as part of their int’l work experience requirement. I remember being surprised that each resume included a colour photo of the applicant, and thinking that this would never fly in Canada, as the photo could be used to discriminate on colour or simple physical attractiveness.
Move ahead to 2013, and today we mirror the French applicants of the 1990s. In my role in business I often receive requests for networking and job info via Linkedin. And on Linkedin, the first thing you see is the colour photo of the sender. Isn’t this opening up opportunities for unfair hiring practices based on the appearance of the applicant?
Of course, appearance bias can still be acted upon once the interview happens. This hasn’t changed.
Move ahead to 2013, and today we mirror the French applicants of the 1990s. In my role in business I often receive requests for networking and job info via Linkedin. And on Linkedin, the first thing you see is the colour photo of the sender. Isn’t this opening up opportunities for unfair hiring practices based on the appearance of the applicant?
Of course, appearance bias can still be acted upon once the interview happens. This hasn’t changed.