Looks over smarts

Jessica Gomez

Expo comp

                                                                                                           

Looks over smarts

In the article “Going for the look, but risking discrimination” by Steven Greenhouse, Greenhouse exposes the primary strategies American retailers use in order to increase their sales. This strategy puts emphasis on strictly hiring people who are only considered attractive. Do you believe hiring based on looks in morally correct? A senior industry analyst with the NPD group, Marshal Cohen says “ retailers defend the approach to hiring based on image as necessary and smart, and industry experts see the point” This means retailers more concerned with their business sales instead of being fair. Hiring based on looks is wrong because companies are discriminating against people who do not portray a certain look. In addition, focusing on a particular look can hurt people’s feeling and individuals with retail experience are unable to demonstrate their skills.

            Companies that hire based on looks discriminate against those who do not have that certain look. The director of the Los Angeles office of equal employment opportunity commission, Olophius Perry states “If you’re hiring by looks, then you can run into problems of race discrimination, national origin discrimination, gender discrimination, age discrimination and even disability discrimination” This quotation is significant because it indicates that hiring people that are considered attractive is discriminating against those who are considered otherwise.

Businesses are wrong for hiring people that look a certain way, disregarding their intellect or work experience. A manager from Abercrombie, Mr. Serrano was told “If someone came in who had lots of retail experience and not a pretty face, we were told not to hire them at all”. This shows that companies are only interested in searching for good-looking people.

However, many may find it appealing to shop at stores with attractive people, it is important to project diversity. Diversity creates a healthier environment by giving people the same opportunities regardless of their appearance.

Focusing on a particular look also affects up coming generations by manipulating their perception of beauty. For example Donna Harper states “ The problem with all this image stuff is it just reeks of marketing for this white-bread, Northern European, thin, wealthy, fashion-model look” This quotation provides a clear image of the expectations required to work for these companies. Although others may believe hiring based on looks is a smart business approach, this method can hurt people’s feelings. Not only is this personally harmful, but it is unfair for talented and hard working individuals.