Another post using sexism to garner likes 🙄
It is 2024.
The patriarchy is falling. Women are rising. We understand the assignment (beyond the US).
Yet sexism still rears its ugly head.
In a profession responsible for the lives and livelihoods of other people, there are still recruitment agents who want their AIDA moment on LinkedIn. They post for reactions, comments and impressions. They don’t consider the consequences or impact.
The latest AIDA LinkedIn post is from a man who used an image of a laptop in front of a TV. On the TV screen is – from the comments – a porn site with an image of a barely-clad reclining female. The attached comment is about how he has to take care of his ill son while his wife works and how distracting it is to work from home – he ‘can’t get into work mode.’
He thinks it is funny.
4000 LinkedIn users also think it’s funny.
Including a number of women who probably think I should lighten up. However, I remember that women fought for our working rights, so unsurprisingly, I do not find sexism on a professional platform funny.
The objectification of a woman to garner attention like this on LinkedIn makes me feel sick.
In the comments, I see I am not alone, but anyone who objects to the glaring sexism is gaslit and accused of having a humour bypass or worse! Some of the replies by the original poster and his team are unduly nasty.
Go ahead and accuse me of having a humour bypass; I don’t care.
What I care about is a profession that moves people from one job to another and the importance of people’s careers. Get it wrong, and you can monumentally screw up someone’s life. We play with people’s lives and livelihoods. This extends to their family and other loved ones.
In my new book, Reboot Hiring, there is a chapter dedicated to the costs of -isms and phobias on hiring. Pre-order it now and get exclusive access to the virtual book launch! 🥳
The person who posted this is the director of a recruitment agency that states, “Our goal is to become the recruiter of choice for UK engineering companies. We will do this by continuing to deliver a first-class service for both clients and candidates”. I query if this post is a display of first-class professional behaviour.
The work-related post has drawn a lot of attention, but this is what I took away from it:
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If I am an engineering company wanting to increase the number of female applicants, avoid this agency because not all women will feel their career is safe, having seen the sexism in this post.
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If I am an engineering company that wants to be 100% confident my employer brand won’t be tarnished, avoid this agency.
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If I want a partner who truly understands the value of work-from-home and how that opens the door to more applicants, choose another agency.
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I wondered how much time was wasted responding and the need to insult people for objecting to sexism.
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It also made me appreciate exceptional recruiters, like Mark Hopkins, who produce content that is funny without insulting anyone, or educational.
For anyone trying to achieve their own AIDA moment, please consider your need to go viral on LinkedIn, especially if your target client or candidate is inactive, and the potential negative cost to your reputation.
Not all publicity is good publicity.
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