But you said “with my luck I’d fine the one guy or gal who doesn’t like long hair on men”, which is a sexist distinction. So if this doesn’t represent your values, then you are internalizing the values of sexist people around you. I empathize that this is an adaptation which you consider necessary, on some level. But be aware that it is also the mechanism by which exploitive norms propagate.
Of course not. But the person doing the hiring represents the attitudes of the company as a whole more directly than other employees do. And if the HR department drafts appearance and/or dress codes which are explicitly sexist, then it seems more than likely that their attitudes might also be skewed in sexist ways as regards other things.
I think it’s about four years for me now. But most employers have never made very good use of my time nor abilities. At least my situation is not worsened by such companies possible effect upon my reputation!
As long as a woman puts at least an hour a day into maintaining her hairstyle, and significant money on hair products and stylists, it’s all good. Heaven forefend we like ourselves just the way we are!
It’s such a persistent current hairstyle that, while searching for images of curly hairstyles to bring my stylist, I kept getting images of women that were clearly not natural curls.
I mean, her hair might be naturally curly, but she’s not wearing it that way, and since I refuse flatly (ha ha) to ever straighten mine it’s not really useful.
(Also this came up in a search for “curly haircut round face” and she has neither of those things).
the systemic issue of you mention of the “tyranny of the majority of dollars” and even just the “island view” that silicon valley ( and redmond, wa ) have – believing the world at large is the same as the one they see around them – is undoubtably problematic. ( even if it’s as simple as something like xbox one’s always connected features, which didn’t work for many rural gamers )
companies have to work hard to over come their own systemic biases. i’m not sure if there’s much other than public opinion to help force that, because – yeah – it doesn’t seem directly profitable for them.
I get your point, but often times it isn’t outright -isms. It is subconscious biases. The impression I leave is the only thing helping or hurting me if you are comparing me to otherwise equal candidates.
This is a big part of what I was trying to get at. Thanks!
But more to my point (adding @anon50609448) :
If we are already relying on imperfect results based on natural language queries we make to help us navigate the world, could it be more ethical to deliberately change the way the results are skewed than presenting the unconscious bias of a society as an objective result?
I separate them because biases are how are brain works. You have to be conscious of them to change, but even when you are, we use them every day for every day decisions. It is just how our brains work. You can’t weigh all the options for every single decision in life. You go with your gut.
But you aren’t going to be able to stop someone thinking negatively about guys with long hair. I might through course of an interview turn them onto me, and it might negate their initial reaction. But if I am trying to make myself as appealing as possible to get a job, that includes taking into account people with biases.
I agree that it makes sense if you can prove it’s having a significant negative impact on business, but I don’t think “being in a public-facing role” alone is proof. My friend that I mentioned is a receptionist, first at a museum, then at an air conditioning company, and did just fine with neon purple and pink hair. You’re basically saying that it should be fine as long as they’re generally hidden from view, I’m saying it should be fine, period, unless hard evidence suggests that more than an insignificant handful of customers have a problem with it.
I did neglect to mention safety as a reason (for example, long hair getting caught in machinery), but I think in most cases that can be solved with hair nets rather than having to change the hair style.
Wait, so the only one who is visibly a “professional” as she’s wearing the tools of a professional trade (the stethoscope) is listed as “unprofessional”? Really? Everyone else could be oncologists, or internists, or whatever, and I’d have no idea, but the one person who truly appears “professional” (shit, she’s even got a lab coat on…) is categorized as “unprofessional”?
I had some extended time off work one year. During that time, I got a mohawk and dyed it bright colors, had some fun going to concerts. By the time I went back to the office, it had become so normal to me that I didn’t even think of it before I went in. Got a lot of compliments. Soon my boss had a fauxhawk and one of the guys in another department had a mohawk. None of us suddenly lost our professional skills. But then, none of us were professional hair models.
Which hair color knows the most about law, redheads, blondes, or brunettes? Does green hair dye seep through the roots into the brain and make bankers/accountants cheat you?
Once when I had long hair, I got through an interview and was hired with no problem. But when I showed up for my first day of work, the manager told me I needed to leave, get a haircut, and come back. I looked around at the other employees. All of the women had long hair. I asked if they had to come along and get haircuts too. The manager said no. I said “then neither do I” and walked out. Due to incidents completely unrelated to me, the business was shut down 2 weeks later. Walking out was a good move.
It’s an unpleasant truth that our culture thinks that way. It appears that the search results reflect that truth. If a person neutrally reports an unpleasant truth, does that person ‘need adjustment’? Is it ethical to force them to whitewash it and suppress the truth because it might make some people uncomfortable? Could covering it up be worse than revealing it?
In tech we look upon “professional looking” hairstyles with suspicion and disinterest (unless you are a brogrammer). “Unix beards” on the other hand are respected.
As someone that’s had a lifelong struggle with bad hair, I fit right in.
