MG 530 – Corporate Social responsibility – 2010
Physical appearance based employment practices: unfair or discriminatory?
PEUPIER Laura
Student ID : 20070475
Words number : 2 198
Introduction 3
I – Overall situation of employment discrimination based on physical appearance 4
1 – What is physical appearance? 4
A – Meaning of physical features 4
B – Meaning of physical attractiveness 4
2 – What is discrimination? 4
3 – Physical appearance and discrimination in the Labor Market 4
A - Relevant laws 4
B – Economical treatment of this issue 5
4 –The employment practices based on physical appearance 5
A – Discrimination in the hiring process and appearance 5
B – Appearance and career progression 6
II – Issues of employment practices based on physical features 7
1 – Appearance based employment practices in details 7
A – Supporters’ position on the appearance based employment discrimination 7
B – The related controversy 7
2 - Ways to make these employment practices less controversial 7
A – Companies have to well define the job’s required characteristics 7
B – Anonymous resume 8
C – Improvement of HALDE and trade unions’ role 8
Conclusion 9
References 10
Table of exhibits 12
Introduction
In France, applicants’ selection is a society issue. A third of the questions asked during job interviews are illegal because they deal with the age or the familial situation of applicants. France when confronted with Anglo-Saxon countries would be the country which uses the most discriminatory hiring practices.
“Beauty is a kind of diploma” (Amadieu; 2002; p. 147). Being attractive seems to allow individuals to avoid unemployment. It also becomes a premium pay. Beauty is part of human resources that the Labor Market recognizes financially. Abilities and capabilities should determine employment access. But the subjective criterion that attractiveness is,...