Unilever Japan Stops Asking for

Genders, Photos on Resumes

April 8, 2020
6
Intermediate

Asia & Pacific

Economy & Business
Exercise 1
Vocabulary
resume
Noun
rɛzəmeɪ
a document that describes a person's education, previous jobs, etc. that is sent when
applying for a job
You have a very impressive resume.
prejudice
Noun
ˈprɛdʒədɪs
an opinion of a group, race, religion, etc. not based on reason or experience; dislike,
negative behavior, etc. caused by an unreasonable opinion
Society is attempting to eliminate racial prejudice.
hire
Verb
haɪr
to employ someone
We need to hire a new manager.
brand
Noun
brænd
a particular company's name or the products they make
Coke is one of the world's most famous brands.
gap
Noun
gæp
a difference between two situations, positions, etc.
There is a huge gap between the rich and poor.
senior
Adjective
ˈsiːnjər
having a high position or status; higher in position or status than others
One of our senior architects is supervising the project.
Exercise 2
Article
Unilever Japan Stops Asking for Genders, Photos on
Resumes
A Japanese company has stopped asking people to send photos with their
resumes to try to stop prejudice in hiring.

In the US, companies are not allowed to ask people for photos unless how they
look is important for their job. US companies also cannot ask for a person's
age or gender.

However, Japanese resumes normally come with a formal photo at the top right
corner. They also show a person's full name, gender and date of birth.

But in March, Unilever Japan said it would stop asking people to send photos
with their resumes. People also no longer need to give their gender or first
name. However, they must still write their age and date of birth.

Unilever Japan said that the change is the first part of its "Lux Social Damage
Care Project," which it started in order to help stop gender-based
prejudice. Lux is a very popular Unilever brand of shampoo.

In January 2020, Lux asked 424 managers and staff about their hiring process,
and about one in four said they felt that women and men were not seen as
equal during hiring. The survey also found that the photo on a resume affected
if a person would be asked to an interview.

According to the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2020,

Japan is 121st out of 153 countries for gender equality – down from 80th in the
first report in 2006. The report noted that only 15% of people in senior jobs in
Japan are women, and women are paid an average of about half of what men
are paid.

Exercise 3
Questions
1.
Are US companies allowed to ask job applicants to provide photos with
their resumes?
2.
Why did Unilever Japan start its "Lux Social Damage Care Project"?
3.
What percentage of people in senior jobs in Japan are women?
Exercise 4
Discussion
1.
What are your thoughts on Unilever Japan's decision to stop asking
people to send photos with their resumes?
2.
Do you think more companies should stop asking people to send
photos with their resumes? Why? Why not?
3.
Would you say that men and women are treated equally at your
workplace? Please explain your answer.
4.
Do you expect gender equality in your country to improve over your
lifetime? Why? Why not?
5.
Which countries do you imagine rank highest in terms of gender
equality? Why?
Exercise 5
Further Discussion
1.
When was the last time you updated your resume? Please explain your
answer.
2.
If you were updating your resume, which of your friends and family
would you ask for help? Why?
3.
What qualities would you look for when hiring people if you were an
employer? Why?
4.
What advice would you give to a friend who was about to go on a job
interview? Please explain your answer.
5.
If you could work for any company, which would you choose? Why?