VivirLatino

As striking as it may be to anyone who hasn’t lived in Latin America, discrimination based on skin color, race, height, weight, gender and sexual orientation is the order of the day when it comes to looking for a job in some countries. In most Latin American countries (and in Spain) a photograph is required when submitting a resume for a job.

In Mexico, not only are employers looking at photos to make the typical judgement of “she’s probably going to have kids soon, no use to us” — which is bad enough — but they are also using carefully crafted job postings to make sure they weed out “undesirables”. The best part? “Diversity-friendly” American companies in Mexico are doing it too:

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

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

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