In Interviews, "You're Pretty, Show Me Your Dance"... Job Seekers Hurt by 'Appearance Evaluation'

Recruiter Comments "Pretty" and Other Appearance Evaluations of Candidates
Cases of Document Rejection Due to "Low Appearance" Ratings

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] Interviewees are repeatedly subjected to appearance evaluations during the hiring process. The problem is that from the interviewee's perspective, even if they hear unpleasant remarks, they often cannot easily raise the issue because their acceptance or rejection depends on it. Persistent gender-discriminatory employment practices are causing distress to job seekers.

According to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRCK) on the 11th, during the final interview at a local credit union cooperative in February last year, female candidate A was subjected to appearance-related remarks unrelated to the job. At that time, the interviewers asked A questions such as "How tall are you?" and "You’re pretty because you’re from ○○ department," and even forced her to sing and dance.

A filed a complaint with the NHRCK in the same month. In response, the interviewers explained to the NHRCK that their remarks were intended to ease tension. They also claimed, "We asked because the resume did not include height and weight," and "The singing and dancing were not forced but were asked to see if she could sing and it would be nice to add some rhythm movements."

Despite these explanations, the NHRCK judged that the interviewers' remarks constituted discriminatory acts. Regardless of the interviewers' intentions, questions unrelated to the job could lead to discriminatory outcomes. The NHRCK explained, "Spending considerable time on questions related to appearance, singing, and dancing rather than job-related questions is an act stemming from a gender-discriminatory culture, practice, or perception that expects and assigns women the role of lightening the atmosphere."

It added, "Considering the hierarchical relationship between the interviewee and the interviewers, it is difficult for the interviewee to readily raise issues, and they cannot help but consider the possibility of disadvantages if they refuse such requests."

This is not the first time appearance evaluations at interviews have been problematic. There have been cases where candidates suffered disadvantages due to appearance evaluations during actual hiring. Last month, it was revealed that a large hospital rejected applicants in the document screening stage citing reasons such as appearance when hiring office staff.

According to the comprehensive audit results of the Catholic Foundation and Catholic University, released by the Ministry of Education on the 21st of last month, Uijeongbu St. Mary's Hospital of Catholic University conducted document screening for office staff recruitment in 2016 without forming a separate panel of reviewers. Two employees evaluated the documents and gave applicants additional points for appearance, ranging from a minimum of 2 points to a maximum of 25 points. Although 12 applicants passed the document screening, some were rejected due to these additional points. Among those who failed the document screening, there were cases rejected for the reason of "poor appearance."

Meanwhile, using appearance as an employment criterion unrelated to job performance is illegal. Article 7 of the Act on Equal Employment and Support for Work-Family Reconciliation prohibits presenting or requiring physical conditions such as appearance, height, weight, marital status, or other conditions prescribed by the Ministry of Employment and Labor when recruiting or hiring female workers if these are not necessary for job performance.

Since May last year, amendments to the Equal Employment Act and the Labor Relations Commission Act, aimed at helping workers seek relief from harm, have been in effect. Accordingly, if gender discrimination in employment, failure to take action on reports of sexual harassment in the workplace or by third parties such as customers, or unfavorable treatment after reporting sexual harassment occurs, workers can file a correction request with the Labor Relations Commission. Correction orders may include cessation of discriminatory treatment, improvement of wages and working conditions, and appropriate compensation.