Believe In America.com

butterbean · Joined: 21 Jun 2006 Posts: 2269

When Michigan-based automotive supplier Lear Corp. needed a secretary for its office in the central state of Guanajuato, it placed a classified ad seeking a "female ... aged 20 to 28 ... preferably single ... with excellent presentation."

And to make sure it got the right candidate, Lear asked applicants to include a recent photo with their resumes.

In the United States, that ad might draw howls of protests and trigger lawsuits and hefty fines. But in Mexico, where jobs are scarce and enforcement of anti-discrimination laws all but nonexistent, employers routinely select hires on criteria more appropriate for a beauty contest.

Job seekers who are considered too old, too chunky or too dark are screened out by companies that sometimes specify the ideal candidate´s marital status, height, weight, tone of voice, even the part of town in which the person should reside.

What is less known is that many U.S. corporations - including Coca-Cola, Pepsi Bottling, Shell Oil and 7-Eleven - are engaging in hiring practices that appear to violate their fair-employment policies in the United States.

They include companies that trumpet their diversity initiatives north of the border, even top-drawer U.S. law firm Baker & McKenzie that should be familiar with Mexican laws prohibiting discrimination.

"Why are so many of them not complying with the same standards they have to comply with in the United States? Because they can get away with it," said Gloria Allred, a Los Angeles-based anti-discrimination attorney.

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http://www.mexiconews.com.mx/21158.html