Alysha Aitken
LANDING a job used to be all about getting your foot in the door – now it might be all about your face.
A website for only “good-looking” people has come under fire for bucking the global push for equal opportunity.
BeautifulPeople.com, a dating website that accepts only “attractive” members, has expanded into recruitment.
Businesses that sign on have their own page and are able to access the site’s catalog of attractive people looking for jobs.
The elite online club is based on a rating system where members of the opposite sex vote other members in or out based on their physical appearance – as they put it, “where every member works the door.”
Managing director Greg Hodge says the site was founded on the principle that people want to be with someone they’re physically attracted to.
He said “honest” employers would admit it paid to hire attractive staff.
“Attractive people tend to make a better first impression on clients, win more business and earn more,” Hodge said in a statement to Mashable.
But not everyone is thrilled with the idea.
A Whole New Approach principal and discrimination specialist Gary Pinchen says the site has gone a step too far and might contravene equal opportunity legislation.
“I think it’s agreed on all levels of the society and community that discrimination needs to be nipped in the bud,” Pinchen said.
First published in mX
June 5, 2013
Alysha Aitken 