Quantcast Age and sex discrimination in hiring policies in RP - The Nepales Report

Age and sex discrimination in hiring policies in RP

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EVERY now and then, I receive copies of the Inquirer from friends in Manila so I can see my column in print. I do see my column online but call me old-fashion ed (and obsessive) -- I still like to hold an actual print copy of PDI, with th e scent of ink and all. A few years ago, I received a complete set of a PDI issue, including the Classi fied Ads section named âJob Market.â I was surprised that in this day and age, many of the want ads blatantly showed the age and sex bias of the prospective e mployers. I hoped that this hiring discrimination based on sex and age would so on be a thing of the past in the Philippines. I recently received another package of PDI issues collected by a friend since M ay. When I browsed a copy of the Job Market, I still saw ads that reflect the d iscriminatory policies of some Human Resources departments in Philippine compan ies. These ads not only showed age and sex bias but also discrimination based o n height, looks and marital status. If these ads appeared in the US, discrimination lawsuits would immediately be f iled against these employers. But I see that even the Philippine franchise hold er of a popular US shoe brand practices sex and age discrimination, based on it s job ad for various positions: concessions manager (âfemale, 25-30 years oldâ ¦â), concession supervisor/coordinators (â21-28 years oldâ¦â) and accounting su pervisor (âfemale, 25-35 years oldâ¦â). The following are examples of the copy in employment ads that typically appear in Philippine newspapers, not just PDI: âFemale, single, not more than 28 yrs; at least 5â1â -- this was a line from an employment ad for a telemarketer. Why this employer would discriminate based o n height, among other things, is beyond me. After all, a telemarketer is define d as a salesperson who uses the telephone to solicit prospective customers to b uy products or services. Are the telephones hanging way up in the ceiling or th e walls of this telemarketing office? âSingle, not more than 25 years old, must be computer literate, good looking⦠â -- from an ad searching for a female private secretary. Enough said. âSingle, femaleâ¦â -- a couple of requirements for a pre-school teacher. An ad announcing vacancies for electrical engineer and mechanical engineers and a sales representative demands that applicants must be âmale, not more than 30 years oldâ¦â but for an internal auditor, the applicant not only has to be fem ale; she must be âsingle, not more than 27 years old.â I am appalled. Hello, itâs the 21st century -- canât women apply as electrical and mechanical engineers and men aspire to be internal auditors in this company in the Philipp ines? And why the age restrictions? They are deplorable requirements to begin w ith -- but to set different age requirements for male and female job applicants ? Discrimination against job applicants based on sex, age, marital status, height and looks, among other qualifications, should stop. If there is no law yet aga inst this type of discrimination, Philippine lawmakers should immediately enact one.

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43 Comments

i am a Filipina and now in the US. you are very right about this ads.. so many
people in the Phils are jobless and have no chances of getting a job because of
these "requirements", esp if they are overage as they call, so in short for pe
ople who are overage there is no chance for them to reapply for another job and
they are stuck to jobs that they are not happy with. I can't undersatnd why th
ere is no human rights advocate or lawmakers who tackle this discrimination iss
ue is the work force in the Phils.! So in short in the Phils. when you are shor
t
( as most are ) , ugly, and overage you are "doom" and jobless for life even th
ough you have a college degree, which is another issue, with no college degree
you can't even work as a sales clerk in a department store, unlike here in the
States, this kind of job does not need a college degree... such a high standard
for the Phils !

masyado ka namang bias din eh. sinuri mo ba kung bakit ganito ang requirements
nila. meron sigurong mga trabahong may mga requirements na hindi naman kailanga
n pero meron ding mga trabahong kailangan talaga yung posted requirements nila.
e.g. ay yung sa electrical engineers at mechanical engineers. kahit papaano ba
ay inisip mo kung bakit male ang requirements nila at may certain age lang? ha
nap ka nang rason. bilis

Hey, its good you posted this article, it's really amazing how we discriminate
our own. just too much unfair qualifications.

Let me share with you what i experienced here in Alberta, Canada. It's all abou
t education, qualifications and marketing yourself to prospective employers lik
e having a good cover letter and resume which only contain 2 pages of relevant
job experience, education and character reference, that's it.

There's nothing that shows your age, date of birth, sex, height, weight, etc. b
lah blah blah...

Unfortunately, we exaggerate much about physical appearance rather than skills
and qualifications.

And worst, its politically inclined, without anybody like a godfather, you're j
ust nothing.

Well that's it, I can share more for those who aspire to immigrate here in Albe
rta, Canada, peace!

The practice is truly appalling, but I think it's the HRD's way of preventing "
trouble" before it starts.

The main difference in the corporate dynamic between here in the Philippines an
d in the US is that over in America, the management and shareholders are two di
fferent parties, with shareholders ready to put their money elsewhere at a mome
nt's notice. In this case, management would be more sensitive to the shareholde
rs' sensibilities. If there is a culture of non-discrimination, then management
would abide by it.

Here, management and owners are one and the same. This means that even if middl
e management (say HR) wants to be more liberal, if the top management-owners be
lieve in the old school of male domination, then the HR have very little choice
except to follow this route.

Add to the mix that jobhunters have options abroad or that they do not have muc
h options here to even file a case against the owner-managers, then such a disc
riminatory symptom is perpetuated in the Job Ads.

On age discrimination by most companies inthe Philippines, you hit the bullseye
, Mr. Nepales! Employers in the Philippines should really wake up before somebo
dy would haul them to court in the future.

I think one reason why they are afraid of hiring people who are in their 40s, 5
0s and even 60s is that these "veterans" would threaten the employers' pride in
sofar as wisdom and experience are concerned. But then I guess such age, height
, gender and physical appearance policies are imposed by narrow-minded and less
-than-human human resource department factotums, not by the top management.

They should face up to the fact that getting veterans in their roster of employ
ees would be like hiring 3-in-1 experts. Mas loyal at committed ang mga ito; hi
ndi mo na sila kelangang itraining; at pwede pang sila na mismo ang magtraining
sa mga bagong-salta, kulang pa sa values at wala pang karanasan na nakababatan
g employees.

You're right. There ought to be laws -- nay, even war -- against this prevalent
racist attitude in the employment sector in this beleaguered country. Kaya sig
uro tayo hindi umaasenso dahil sinauna ang ating mga policies tungkol dyan! Jus
t you wait until such Hitler-gened guys would themselves become middle-aged.

100% i agree with this article. this is the main reason why the percentage of u
nemployment rate in the Philippines is very high. the main qualification that a
n employer should take into consideration in seeking for an applicant is her/hi
s expertise + the knowledge that he/she possess for the job being applied for.
The Philippine government should look into this matter seriously & should p
ass a law penalizing employers having this kind of job discrimination.

Amen to that! Definitely down with discrimination!

What these discriminatory employers don't realize is that their actions are sel
f-defeating. The search and selection processes they employ simply become ineff
ective and inefficient. It's either that they don't hire most competent employe
e or that it will take them a very long time to find the right person based on
their "strict" qualifications.

I totally agree. As a woman in mid 40s, I have experienced this blatant discrim
ination. Even with decades of experience that have resulted in competencies, I
had to endure the humiliation of being reminded of my age. I tried the BPOs and
I experienced the same thing. Recruitment officers who were not even born yet
when I started working, rejected my application for higher positions in the com
pany and insisted that I become an agent. In other companies, I was simply told
to consider retirement at my age. I found myself crying numerous times after m
y interview and have now stopped applying just to spare myself the humiliation.
At one time, I decided to lower my age by 10 years and submitted an online res
ume indicating such. I got a lot of interview requests. This just proves that d
iscrimination is not only BLATANT but INSTITUTIONALIZED. Thanks to our HR profe
ssionals this insidious practice is considered standard and acceptable. Maybe y
ou might consider writing about how BPOs blatantly disregard their claims of EE
O here in the Philippines. Truth of the matter is , they really prefer young pe
ople and that their claims of EEO applies only to agent level positions and not
to the entire company. It is tragic how this discrimination persists to this d
ay and age. It is appaling to see it on major dailies and the impotent labor de
partment just ignores it for the simple reason that they have no one who will a
ddress this. There is a law against this and it is in the constitution yet, mos
t Filipinos refuse to assert this and sacrifice their right to equality just to
get a job. We never seem to learn.

Gandang Araw ser,

Tama ka sa sinabi mo. At saka meron pang mga kumpanya dyan sa atin kung di ka g
raduate ng LaSalle, Ateneo, UP o UST eh no need to apply. Malaking factor pa yu
ng age mo. Kaya ang hirap magahanap ng trabaho dyan sa atin pag over 30 years o
ld ka na. Sa opinyon ko ito rin siguro ang isa sa mga reason kung bakit marami
ng professionals na over 30 ang nag-aabroad sa panahon natin ngayon. Kagaya ko,
1st year college lang ang narating ko sa Finearts. Pero di ibig sabihin na di
ko kaya ang trabaho na ginagawa ng iba sa field ko. Mabuti na lang yung employe
r ko dito sa ibang bansa eh di tumitingin sa diploma kundi dun sa result ng act
ual exam during interview at saka sa experienced ko. Now Senior Designer na ko
earning 6digits salary(P). Thrice a year pa ako nakakauwi ng Pinas. Pwede naman
pala makuha yun thru hardwork, dedication and honesty sa trabaho. Hindi yung d
ahil saang school ka nanggaling o dahil meron ka lang kaibigan na nagrekomenda
sa trabaho. I have some bitter experienced dyan na kapag nagaaply ka titingnan
lang yun cv tapos sasabihin sa iyo, sorry ser yung me diploma lang ang pwede m
ag-apply. Without trying to test your skills on actual exam. Pero ganon lang ta
laga, inisip ko na lang di naman ako ang nawalan....kasi nawalan sila ng potent
ial employee na pwede nilang asahan.

That is so true. Eventhough we can say that we have a healthy job market now th
at our economy is getting a boost and all, it would still be hard to get a job
in which you know you are well qualified. I do hope that our lawmakers can do s
omething about this. It would really mean a big leap in people employability an
d would greatly help reduce our poverty problems.

Stop being a hypocrit Mr. Nepales, you yourself will not hire an old woman to b
e your secretary plus you dont want to see an ugly male doing your secretarial
job in your office, if you have one. Bottom line, as long as there is no Law re
garding discrimination on age, sex and race in Philippines, you're gripe is goi
ng nowhere. Lets Danding Cojuangco wants a young and beautiful secretery, shoul
d he be prosecuted for not hiring a Miss Tapia lookalike, PLEASE, not in the Ph
ilippinse.

Thanks for airing those observations. My friends and I often discuss our job hu
nting years in the Philippines and most of it were really horrible. The most co
mmon ones that we encountered were:
a: you just graduated and we need experienced people for the job (Hello! HRD pe
ople, I have this to ask you, were you that experienced when you got your first
job? I bet not.) How will you get the experience if you don't get a job?
b: Physical imperfections: too small, too tall, stout, thin, good looking perso
nality and others... Are we applying at a modelling agency?
c. 25-30 y/o, masteral degree holder or higher education, ex-abroad: People who
are applying for positions they think are within their capabilities are consid
ered over-qualified by most companies.

It's a good thing there are job opportunities abroad where our skills are enhan
ced and honed and we are paid more than our Philippine counterparts. The sad th
ing is that if we want to impart what we've learned to the younger generations
working in the Phils, we are considered ancient and too fussy.
Good luck and hope the lawmakers make something out of this.

Sadly, I agree to this unfortunate "convention" in our newspaper ads. But also
I wish to express my opinion regarding this predicament.
I think the main problem in the Philippines is not only this type of discrimina
tion, but also jobhunting as a whole.
There are so many people looking for jobs as compared to actual jobs available-
-mostly in Manila where the good-paying jobs are. The jobs in the provinces are
no better, where employers are mostly family corporations where most positions
are taken by rerelatives and friends.
If there are more jobs, there would be more people employed, and then there wou
ld be competition on how to get more experienced people rather than these deplo
rable "conventional" requirements of HR's. I think that's what everyone must s
trive for--a better economy so that investors would start setting up more busin
esses and jobs for Filipinos.

mr suave and andres still lives in the 19th century..lol at their lame comments

Ang lola ko (she's 62 yrs old) nag apply as a cashier sa Macy's dito sa U.S. Gu
sto nya ang ganitong trabaho at natanggap naman sya. Sabi nya saken, hindi ako
matatanggap maging cashier sa SM sa atin sa Pilipinas. Ang arte talaga ng hirin
g sa Pinas. Napakaprimitive pa ang mga patakaran saten. Oh well. That's all!!!

YES! YES! YES!

Let's see how our lawmakers tackle this...

Then they can implement laws that require equal opportunities for everyonek inc
luding disabled people...

Next they can tackle the fake qualifications openly for sale in Recto...and the
regulation of professional and educational services.

Let's not stop at making laws...let's implement them and take action against pe
ople who systematically disregard them.

Hello! hindi gagawin ng mga lawmakers natin na mafix ang issue nato, eh binba
yaran sila ng mga company na to para wag gawin ang mga "pro employee" stuff.

Gumwa pa nga sila ng law na maging legal ung "6-month" contract na renewable la
ng eh para nde maging regular employee and walang mga benefits/bonuses.

Sino nga yun nagpass ng bill na yun?

The bottom line dito sa ating bansang Pilipinas kapag ang pag-uusapan ay trabah
o; nagiging pabigat ang may mga pinag-aralan dahilan sa kanilang pansa-samantal
a sa sweldong kanilang natatanggap na hindi naman nagta-trabaho ng ayos. Aanhin
mo nga ang may talino kung ang paggamit naman ay nilalamangan ang may kaunting
kaalaman. Nakikita naman ng buong madla sa ating mga nakaupong politisyan na d
apat gamitin ang perang bayan sa malinis na paraan katulad na lang ng paggawa n
g kalsada, pero nasaan ang budget, kungdi sa sariling pamilya @ nagmamayabang p
a na meron silang yaman. OO nga, meron silang yaman, yamang nakaw na taas noo p
ang pinag-kakaila sa kanilang bayan. Marami akong kakilala na mataas ang posisy
on @ nasa gobyerno nagta-trabaho, pero ano ang aking ginagawa, kungdi ang bigya
n sila ng kahihiyan sa harapan nang ating kababayan na oras na para pumasok sa
trabaho pero anong oras sila pumapasok, kungdi 9:30-10:00AM instead na 7:30-8:0
0AM but paid full. Tama ba naman iyan.. Pero pagdating sa ibang bansa, wow, kag
alang-galang na manggagawa, pero hindi maipakita o mai-apply sa sariling bayan.
Magbago na kayo ng asal para sa ika-u-unlad ng ating bayan.

those nationalistic politicians kuno, they want us to serve our country first b
efore we go abroad, tapos sila lang ang yumayaman, kala mo kung sino sila sa da
an, pati mga bodyguards na mayayabang, tayong mga poor workers hirap humanap ng
job, pag nakakita ka parang wala rin sa liit ng suweldo, mga multinational com
panies approved lagi increases, pero salary natin hindi, because me mga payola
ang mga lintik na yan, pinoy inventors di makausad, their inventions can't go o
n because of lobbyists in the tongress and sila kumikita just like iin the medi
cine bill, pinoy patay na naman, sila kita na namn.

Anyway, Mr. Nepales, it's only my opinion, it is still your publication, thanks
, more Power!!!!

I am currently working outside of our country because in the Philippines privat
e companies discriminates those who are over 35 years old. I know because I wa
s a victim.

Nowadays, private companies talk about corporate social responsibilities - Uso
kasi? They have to remove blinders from they very eyes as I am pretty sure ag
e discrimination is being practiced right in the doorsteps of their companies.
Please no more lipservice!!!!!

Much is given - much is expected.

Tulungan ninyo naman ang mga taong na didiscriminate. In Singapore basta kaya
ng magtrabaho ng mga Singaporean binibigyan sila ng trabaho ng mga companies do
on. Same is true in other countries. Why there are millions of OFWs who opte
d to work overseas because in their beloved country (ruled only by the elites a
nd the very rich)they experienced age discrimination. Tapos ngayon itong malal
aking companies na ito they take advantage of OFWs through their billions dolla
r remittances.

Hello, I am glad that I am not applying a job in the Philippines right now beca
use:

#1. I am short
#2. I am old-49 years old
#3, I do not have a pleasing personality-in the Phils. means-beautiful
#4. I do not have backers.

I might the most qualified person..with 2 masters degree but with those above m
entioned reasons, I would not qualify.
I wa amazed when I first went to a bank here in the US and the tellers were a l
ot older than me and they were not the most beautiful women in front. Not in t
he Philippines, applying for a tellering job, you have to be at least 5'3, sing
le, 21-23 years old, and with very pleasing personality. Parang kang nag apply
nang Ms. Philippines. The same thing in applying a stewardess job. What a sh
ame. One cannot apply a job even if you speak fluent english, good grades and a
verage look. Another thing , you have to be fair skin...or mestiza. LOL

goodluck new grads if you do not possess all the requirements.

Thanks!

kawawa talaga ang mahal kong Pilipinas iilan lang naghaharian habang lugmok sa
kahirapan at kawalang hustisya ang mga napakasisipag na manggagawang Pilipino.
Gising kababayan!!!

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We are not aware that this is discrimination namely, age sex marital status etc
. The ads are just blunt. But the employers are sure losing a lot if they are
limiting their choices. Now it seems it is getting better with the call cente
r ads showing pictures of older persons in their recruitment ads without mentio
n of age etc.

i am a Filipina and now in the US. you are very right about this ads.. so many
people in the Phils are jobless and have no chances of getting a job because of
these "requirements", esp if they are overage as they call, so in short for pe
ople who are overage there is no chance for them to reapply for another job and
they are stuck to jobs that they are not happy with. I can't undersatnd why th
ere is no human rights advocate or lawmakers who tackle this discrimination iss
ue is the work force in the Phils.! So in short in the Phils. when you are short
Best regards, Alex, CEO of youtube converter

I think the main problem in the Philippines is not only this type of discrimina
tion, but also jobhunting as a whole.
Best regards, Katya, CEO of dvd burner drive, datacore iscsi

parang nkaka2wa nmang malaman na mer0n plang gnit0ng t0pic ay0s to ah., pr0blema nga tlga., dhil alam nyo ang may krapatang kumain ay y0n lng may pinag-aralan, matalin0, matangkad at bata pa., ung mga b0bo taz unano at wlang pinag-aralan at medyo gurang wla nang krapatang kumain kya pinagkaitang magtrbho. Kya hanggang ngay0n uyay0d parin ang pilipinas dhil s mga wlang kwentang limitasy0n na yan. Hahay sana mabago na nga gnyang sistema dhil kung marami parin maghi2rap.

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This page contains a single entry by published on November 10, 2007 8:01 PM.

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