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Lookism – Appearance and the Discrimination That Goes with It

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Lookism – Appearance and the Discrimination That Goes with It
Human Resources Management

Executive Memorandum

To:
From:
Date: November 16, 2011
Re: Lookism – Appearance and the discrimination that goes with it

Lookism is a more and more pressing problem for companies and corporations, that strive to create an equal opportunities work space. The definition of lookism is “bias or discrimination against individuals on the basis of appearance, often unconscious.” This discrimination refers to both people who are not perceived as attractive and those who have to deal with the stereotypes connected to being exceptionally good-looking.

The business world should acknowledge this relatively new type of discrimination because it leaves companies vulnerable to a whole new field of lawsuits. Increasing awareness on the problem is the first step to be taken since lookism is mainly done unconsciously. Statistics provided by the EEOC show a considerable increase in lawsuits based on race, religion, sex, origin and age. Discrimination based on appearance is part of this increase, even though the correlation cannot be really seen. The report provides recent examples of lawsuits and their outcomes for the companies, which proves the problem is gaining popularity.

A lot of research has been made over the last decade or so all showing that lookism is an actual problem and some of the perceptions that are based on it. The results of the studies all show that attractive people receive preferential treatment, starting from school where unattractive kids are the subject of bulling, where as it has been proven that on average attractive children are evaluated higher. The report also discusses the implications of above and below average good-looking people in their social lives and how that affects them as employees.

Data presented from different researches and studies shows a more comprehensive insight on how familiar people are with the problem. Overall the materials show a low level of awareness of the problem among employees and


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