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Female programmer denied job because of her 'unprofessional' attire

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Re: Female programmer denied job because of her 'unprofessional' attire

#11

Post by jklein11 »

I think the recruiters second two comments were the most valid. Being late and having a run in your stockings seems to show a lack of caring and professionalism.

The comment about "looking like she was ready to go out" was, in my opinion just a poor way of saying that she was too casual. I understand that the company may have a casual dress code, but it sounds like her appearance was "unprofessional" and not "overtly sexy". I would imagine that a guy showing up in a tattered suit would have gotten a similarly poor response.

Re: Female programmer denied job because of her 'unprofessional' attire

#12

Post by jrock08 »

DiabloD3 wrote: post #2

I'm sorry, but what does her being female have to do with this? The company clearly has a dress code, she did not meet it during the interview.

Business casual is defined constructively for males and existentially for females. Examples of how to dress business casual for men and women clearly show this.[1]

Scrolling through the results of an image search for "women's business casual" vs "men's business casual" also highlight a stark difference.

This leads to unconscious bias against women. It isn't that we don't want to hire you, it's that we felt like you made a dress Faux pas that a male is never given the opportunity to make. Your skirt was slightly too high and also red, the top slightly too low cut, you wore slightly too much makeup, and even though you paired the skirt with leggings, we just felt you don't "understand" business dress.

[1] http://www.wikihow.com/Dress-Business-Casual

Re: Female programmer denied job because of her 'unprofessional' attire

#13

Post by billpg »

JSeymourATL wrote: post #10

Judging a candidate by looks alone may seem like a shallow thing. But the profane FB rant demonstrates a definite lack of professional composure. The company dodged a problematic hire. I'm afraid this poor decision will haunt her.

An FB rant posted as visible-to-friends-only.

Re: Female programmer denied job because of her 'unprofessional' attire

#14

Post by thret »

dudul wrote: post #3

"If I had been a man would it have mattered what I was wearing?" Pretty obviously yes. One may think it's stupid but this company has a dress code and wants its employees to look put together period. Also, based on her post I would say the company was pretty good at reading her personality. I have rarely seen someone who is yet to graduate but already has such deep feeling of entitlement. I guess her parents have tol…

Thank you, I was about to say the same. I hate wearing suits, but I wear them for weddings and funerals and interviews because that is one of the clauses in the social contract.

Re: Female programmer denied job because of her 'unprofessional' attire

#16

Post by jpetersonmn »

billpg wrote: post #13
JSeymourATL wrote: post #10

Judging a candidate by looks alone may seem like a shallow thing. But the profane FB rant demonstrates a definite lack of professional composure. The company dodged a problematic hire. I'm afraid this poor decision will haunt her.

An FB rant posted as visible-to-friends-only.

Perhaps it started that way, but it's visible to the world now.

Re: Female programmer denied job because of her 'unprofessional' attire

#17

Post by 0xdeadbeefbabe »

ukigumo wrote: post #8

I hate it that in this day and age people would still be passed on a job they are qualified for and willing to do because of the way they chose to dress or ornaments they chose to use. Having said this, the article is rage-bait. Remove the "female" from the title and it's just another Tuesday. Getting a job is hard for everyone.

Not trying to be cynical, but I feel like days and ages would only shift this problem around instead of fixing it.

Re: Female programmer denied job because of her 'unprofessional' attire

#18

Post by cpncrunch »

thret wrote: post #14
dudul wrote: post #3

"If I had been a man would it have mattered what I was wearing?" Pretty obviously yes. One may think it's stupid but this company has a dress code and wants its employees to look put together period. Also, based on her post I would say the company was pretty good at reading her personality. I have rarely seen someone who is yet to graduate but already has such deep feeling of entitlement. I guess her parents have tol…

Thank you, I was about to say the same. I hate wearing suits, but I wear them for weddings and funerals and interviews because that is one of the clauses in the social contract.

Not really. Their CEO is pictured wearing either a casual sweater, or what looks like a clubbing or gameshow presenter outfit:

http://medcitynews.com/2012/02/scheduling-software-company-o... http://www.onshift.com/blog/we-have-coolest-tech-leader-clev...

Seems like they're being a bit hypocritical, as her outfit was just as professional as his.

Overall, I think they probably just have some asshat of a manager. Most companies have a few of these. She probably dodged a bullet with this one.

Re: Female programmer denied job because of her 'unprofessional' attire

#19

Post by jrock08 »

classicsnoot wrote: post #9

Two points: >This person does seem rather entitled as well as naive. I think her post was used to continue the "fight against patriarchy" and, much like the Rolling Stone article about UVA, is rather counterproductive. >I do feel for women in the workplace, in any vocation, in terms of dress. It is an unfair standard and attention, impolite and otherwise, is completely unavoidable. It is a tricky situation: I believe…

>There must be some middle ground between the burkah and the bikini

Yeah there must be some sort of middle ground, like a skirt and leggings, and a blouse.

Re: Female programmer denied job because of her 'unprofessional' attire

#20

Post by cpncrunch »

JSeymourATL wrote: post #10

Judging a candidate by looks alone may seem like a shallow thing. But the profane FB rant demonstrates a definite lack of professional composure. The company dodged a problematic hire. I'm afraid this poor decision will haunt her.

I think it's reasonable to get a bit upset and unleash a few swearwords after something like this.
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