Appearance and Weight as Secondary Dimensions of Diversity
Appearance as a Secondary Dimension of Diversity
Appearance is how one appears to be to the other people surrounding him/her. In modern-day society, a person’s appearance can affect how people perceive him/her, affecting several factors such as the probability of securing employment or getting married, or being respected. It is common to think that good-looking people possess other positive qualities such as popularity, success, happiness, honesty, sociability, etc. This is because people tend to judge someone regarding how they look physically first before getting to know their inside, i.e., emotional and behavioral sides. Hence, understanding how appearance can lead to people making various judgments is an essential factor that people should learn to ensure that they are not caught on the wrong side of their perception.
How Appearance Affects Workplace
In modern-day society, unattractive job applicants are less likely to secure a job than their more attractive counterparts. Employees may fail to employ the most talented or most experienced or most skilled personnel in their organization due to being blinded by appearance. That is why many people tend to dress nicely during a job interview to increase their chances of being considered for the job. Institutions and businesses such as hotels and restaurants, aviation, fashion stores, and beauty salons tend to employ attractive employees from the simple opinion that they tend to attract more customers into the businesses, leading to an increase in their sales. Moreover, in the U.S, more tall people earn a higher salary and are more successful than the shorter people who are 5.5 feet and below, especially in sales-related jobs. Also, in traditional male-related jobs, women who are too pretty or feminine tend to be discriminated against because they appear to be delicate and cannot put in their male counterparts’ efforts and commitment. Hence, anyone needs to study the type of job he/she is applying for and come up with an appropriate appearance decision since sometimes beauty can be devastating.
Appearance and Leadership
The ideal perception of a leader to most people throughout the world is that the person should be tall and massive. Although not a primary factor considered in choosing a leader, aspiring leaders who are tall and bigger up to a certain level have an added advantage over their counterparts since people judge a person first by their looks. Hugeness is a sign of leadership. In China, National Packing Import and Export Corporation includes a minimum height of 5 feet 5 inches for men in managerial jobs while a minimum of 5 feet 3 inches for women (Branine, 2011). It can be explained that for the sake of the company/corporation’s image, the managers ought to be good-looking, tall, and fit. In the U.S.A from research, it has been determined that gray hair in males is viewed as a sign of experience, while gray hair among women can be a disadvantage to them since they are considered as old and slow (Rhode, 2010).
Reasons why Companies and Businesses Focus much on Appearance
Companies, especially in the marketing and sales sector, tend to value attractive employees since they attract more customers to their premises. Despite depicting a good image, companies also want to create a favorable working environment for all the employees without any distractions, hence the reason for dress codes. Also, especially in the military, officers are required to be disciplined and serious while at the same time maintaining a proper military appearance, hence the reason for their strict dress code. Some positions, significantly managerial posts in a company, also require an appropriate physical appearance and a dressing code.
Weight
Weight is considered as a feature of attractiveness whereby different societies have different views on weight standards. Overweight people are wrongly assumed to be lazy, slow, stupid, undesirable, undisciplined, greedy, uneducated, weak, and sloppy.
They face discrimination in health care departments, employment opportunities, fitness clubs, education, etc. They also find it hard to fit in some public facilities such as bus seats, toilets, bathroom stalls, seat belts, etc. They are also charged higher in life and health insurance premiums than their thinner counterparts, which is a form of discrimination. Moreover, finding the right clothing for them is challenging and costly since most clothes are designed for thin and medium-sized people. Biasness against fat people is magnified in society to levels higher than those of race and age discrimination, especially in securing a job. From research, people who appeared to be more obese (fat) were paid less and occupied most of the low ranked jobs than their medium-sized counterparts. For reference
Hence, an individual’s appearance and weight are essential factors that one should consider on different occasions, especially in seeking employment. Different societies have different perspectives on beauty standards. Based on culture, people who have good-looks and medium people (weight) are considered more attractive, allowing them to access opportunities than their overweight and physically unattractive people. Discrimination towards people who do not fit in society’s cultural requirements regarding weight and appearance is evident and will continue to exist.
Diversity in Military Service
Due to the seriousness, call of duty, and the risk involved in military operations, military departments’ diversity is an essential topic that military departments ought to research on and come up with logical conclusions pertaining to diversity. For example, in the past women were discriminated from joining the army since they were stereotyped as being weak, lazy, and impatient but as the society grew they have been incorporated into the army where they are treated like their male counterparts and are even sent to combat operations. Despite trying to create equal opportunities to all, there are still areas such as race, age, nationality, and sex under which acts of discrimination are still evident. There have been numerous challenges pertaining to employment, deployment in keeping the armed forces’ norms, values, culture, attitudes, and beliefs. Most leaders recommend that the military be a reflection of an ideal society by incorporating different views and ideas relating to religion, race, and ethnicity.
Regarding the military, diversity can be described as the differences among individuals from possessing certain qualities or being part of certain groups associated with inevitable consequences. The U.S. military comprises both men and women of different races, ethnic groups, nationalities, and religions. Hence, it can be termed as an ideal society that should be emulated by all.
The problem of Women Recruitment into the Military and Low Representation Numbers of the Blacks
Although there has been a significant steady increase in the number of women recruited and involved in active military operations over recent years, there still exist acts of discrimination facing females in the military. It is important to note that since 2000 the percentage of women in the military still stands at 14.5% of the total military force. Moreover, women occupy extremely low ranks as compared to their male counterparts. Also, a female officer’s likelihood to be considered a flag officer is half the likelihood of a male partner. We cannot deny the fact that women cannot be offered the same number of senior ranks as their male counterparts. Still, the Department of Defense should come up with strategies to incorporate more females and enable them to attain higher positions in the military. Moreover, in recent years more blacks have been recruited in the different military branches, and also they have been able to be considered for high ranks. However, they have not been well represented in terms of numbers, and the Department of Defense should devise ways to incorporate more blacks into the army and ensure that they are well trained and feel that they are a part of the military unit.
Strategies that the Military can Use To Incorporate Diversity
The army, navy, and air force could increase the number of blacks recruited to increase diversity in their teams. There have been past efforts to increase color diversity in the various military units with notably the navy, which established a Navy Office of Community Outreach (NAVCO) and has come up with a “Recruiters of the year” award to congratulate the various departments under it who have incorporated diversity of race and color. Also, the Department of Defense should ensure that the black military officers are not just recruited but also well trained and equipped as their white counterparts. They should be recommended for additional educational services on military operations to perpetuate diversity and ensure equality. The military could also increase the chance of black military officers being appointed for high-rank positions in the military, such as operations officers, aides-de-camp, etc. The leaders should find a way to balance these posts to represent a good proportion of all the races. Also, junior officers should be advised to seek advice from the more experienced soldiers while the senior officers should seek the junior officers to exchange ideas. Moreover, unit leaders should continuously preach to their juniors that diversity is vital for society to live in harmony and should be incorporated to ensure smooth operations. If the leaders aspire the military to be diverse, they should present the message on a constant short-term basis to ensure that the information sinks into the officers’ hearts.
Moreover, the Department of Defense should encourage women to apply for military jobs to increase their numbers. It can also set up a goal to recruit a certain number of females and train them in the same capacity as their male counterparts. Moreover, Females should be included in high-rank positions without discriminating against them based on their gender. Instead, their skills should be considered from the simple fact that the DOD can block away from a leader who has better combat skills and a greater capability of preventing an attack on the country.
References
Branine, M. (2011). Managing across cultures.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Rhode, D. L. (2010). The beauty bias: The injustice of appearance in life and law. Oxford University Press.