Bald men wanted: Employment discrimination?
Filed under: Entrepreneurship, Career
Strange jobs are probably common, but I had to laugh and wonder about job discrimination the other day when I came across an odd job description for the regular, everyday job of copy writer. The ad on Craigslist seemed straightforward enough, but the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like a bit of discrimination.
A part-time, experienced channel editor/copywriter is needed for a social networking web site in San Francisco that focuses on hair loss lifestyle. Editors are needed in various categories, again, as they pertain to hair loss lifestyle. The categories include: Entertainment, travel, news and fashion (hats?).
Here's the part that caught my eye: "Preference given to those who live a hair loss lifestyle." So a bald writer will get preference over me, a man with a full head of hair? Is that fair? I understand that the company wants to hire someone who can best get their message across and knows what they're talking about, and as someone with a Don King type of hairdo if I let it grow for two months, I laughed out loud at the euphemism for being bald. But is putting that request in a job announcement akin to asking for writers who are white, female and have long, brunette hair?
There's nothing to be ashamed of by being bald. Bald R Us.com named "Joe the Plumber" as its bald man of the year for 2008. Congratulations, Joe. And I don't mean to infer that only men are bald. According to TheBaldTruth.com, more than 40% of all hair loss sufferers are women.
Another interesting detail in the ad for the social networking site for bald people: The job description doesn't reveal much as far as salary goes. Many job listings don't, and I can attest in my three-plus months of looking for work after being laid off, that DOE, or depending on experience, is listed in almost every job listing. But the bald job is a little unique in its lack of salary information and how much it pushes other ways of getting paid: "Compensation includes high profile promotion of your bio, your company or personal website, your photo and business and more." And what if I don't sell hair tonic, then what?
Aaron Crowe is an unemployed journalist in the San Francisco Bay Area. Read his blog about his job hunt at www.talesofanunemployeddad.blogspot.com
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-12-2008 @ 11:56AM
Kyle Roos said...
I agree, I think that is a form of discrimination. People with a full head of hair, or just thinning like me, should be able to have equal opportunity!
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11-12-2008 @ 12:02PM
Josh Smith said...
I wonder what they would do if they found out you were shaving your head every morning to get the job!
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11-12-2008 @ 1:57PM
soren24 said...
C'mon, are you serious? Would it be discrimination to hire only females at a battered women's shelter? How about gay or transgender writers for a GLBT magazine? By nature of what someone looks like or "is," they are a more appropriate hire than others. Where do you draw the line?
Is the problem that the employer is being up front about it? Maybe they should have to waste their time interviewing less-than-ideal candidates instead of posting an honest ad?
There is a time and place for political correctness. This is not it.
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11-15-2008 @ 12:12AM
amari said...
have you seen the ads in the paper???? and i quote spanish speaking only.i think that is discrimination at is best....america should pass a law that everyone has to know english before they come to america or shortly there after....aslo have you called a business or a bill company and on the other end the could hardly speak english? that pisses me off big time because i have not the time or the patients to try and understand what they are saying....i always ask for an english speaking person...any way you understand what im trying to say....
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