Monday, February 24, 2014

#5 Job-seekers claim looks discrimination

Maya Croll-Wright

In the article below, Mary Croll-Wright, 19, is described as being extremely experienced, highly motivated and outgoing - but, due to her tattoos, blue hair, and weight, she has been denied from every hospitality position she has applied for. Unfortunately, not everyone will see past the outward appearance, and Wright says, that she has "had countless job interviews after applying for every job I can find. But as soon as they see me in person, it all goes downhill."

Read the rest of the article below.

In the past two months, Croll-Wright says she had about 20 interviews for jobs in cafes, shops and restaurants around Christchurch. She has been rejected from every one. On the phone, employers are enthusiastic, she says. But when the interview comes "they look me up and down". Some told her she was "not conservative enough", others asked whether she understood nutrition. 
Another young woman, who asked not to be named, has solid experience in hospitality and management. The 21-year-old describes herself as overweight, with tattoos and bright purple hair. She has been looking for a part-time job to finance her studies for the past two months and had about five interviews in shops and hospitality outlets.
"All of them pretty much said they were happy to hire me as long as I dyed my hair."
But she says she would like to keep her hair color because she does a bit of plus-size modelling "and my purple hair shows up really nicely in the photographs".
She says she will keep looking for a job that allows her to keep her style, but might end up dyeing it if she does not find anything.
But is it legal for employer to discriminate against prospective employees because they have blue hair and tattoos? Taylor Shaw partner and employment law specialist Kathryn Dalziel says yes.
"Employers can discriminate on weight, colour of hair and visibility of tattoos."
The answer is less clear when it comes to cultural tattoos, she says. Air New Zealand last year refused to hire a woman who had a traditional Maori tattoo on her forearm.
"She was told to wear long-sleeved shirts to cover it up and that was held to be discriminatory conduct by the Human Rights Tribunal," Dalziel says.
Discrimination based on weight has so far not been considered a breach, but could be considered a cultural or a health issue, she says. In general, as long as the discrimination is not based on gender, race, colour or ethnicity, it does not breach any laws.
"If you want to brand your business, you can prefer the better-looking.
Burger Fuel Christchurch franchise co-owner Malte Herzhoff says he checks potential employees' fingernails. Tattoos and being overweight, however, are "absolutely fine with us".
"A lot of our employees have visible tattoos. They are young people and the tattoos have meaning to them.
"It's more about the attitude than appearance. What I might find attractive, my customers won't find attractive. I'm not the one to judge that."
A Christchurch cafe owner, who asked not to be named, says candidates need to present well. He says weight is not an issue, but tattoos can make him uneasy.
"It's not a black and white thing. If they have tattoos from their fingers all the way up their arms, it's not great presentation for me."
- © Fairfax NZ News

Sunday, February 9, 2014

#4 - Hair Discrimination?



Everyone loves to take pride in their looks, and everyone probably has a favorite feature about themselves. Whether it is your eyes, hands, legs, it is yours to be proud of and "modify"" as you please. But one thing that has recently caught my eye is HAIR modification discrimination.

Apparently, no one in the world is pleased when it comes to what others do to express themselves. No one, including those in North Kern State Prison, is satisfied with the way Solomon Stanley chose to express himself through his religion. He worked as a prison guard, and his Rastafarian religion encourages him to wear dreadlocks and a beard, but he was soon harassed by those around him for his choice to style his hair in the way his religion teaches.

In the article, it reads that "his refusal to cut his hair and beard has generated two lawsuits — one in federal court in Fresno and another in Fresno County Superior Court — that accuse prison officials in Delano of religious harassment, discrimination and retaliation."

Not only does this outrageous form of discrimination coincide with body modification, but it also does not allow for freedom of religion. The article goes on to explain that when a new command unit took over the prison, he began being harassed; getting called names and having his job duties changed were enough to cause him so much stress, he received a medical discharge in December 2010. 


Discrimination is a useless, mindless, terrible thing to exhibit onto another human being. Self/religious-expression in the form of modifying your body is not a reason to be targeted for harassment. Hopefully this will end soon enough!


Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/02/08/3758271/ex-guards-rastafarian-beliefs.html#storylink=cpy

Monday, February 3, 2014

#3 "Taboo Tattoos"

Tattoos are becoming more common with every generation, but does that mean they are becoming more accepted as well? In almost every video I found, I observed the same things; though more people have tattoos, it is still viewed as unprofessional in the workplace. This method of self-expression is seen very differently depending on the profession, however, but despite this, the more important factor should be how well you are able to perform your job.

In this video, Fox looks into how tattoos are viewed in the workplace and what many of those who are "inked" are doing in order to land that dream job of theirs.