During Interviews, Asking Feminism Questions and Saying "Take Off Your Mask So We Can See Your Expression"... Job Seekers Unable to Protest Ideological Screening

1 in 5 Job Seekers Asked Gender-Conscious Questions in Interviews
Job Seekers "Difficult to Object Even When Experiencing Power Abuse"
Experts "Personal Beliefs Should Not Be Examined in Hiring Interviews"

Job seekers are preparing for interviews. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] "What do you think about feminism?"

Recently, some job seekers have claimed that they were asked inappropriate questions during job interviews, causing social concern. Female job seekers, in particular, have often faced gender-discriminatory questions or inquiries verifying feminist beliefs that are unrelated to the job during interviews. However, it appears that job seekers rarely protest such inappropriate questions. It is not easy to challenge the interviewer's attitude when waiting for a decision as an interviewee.

Given this situation, some argue that legal systems should be improved to prevent gender-discriminatory questions during interviews. Experts pointed out that personal beliefs should not be verified during job interviews.

Recently, a controversy arose after a small-to-medium enterprise reportedly asked an interviewee about their thoughts on feminism and requested them to remove their mask, saying, "I want to see your facial expression while answering."

According to SBS on the 14th, A, a job seeker in their 20s, was asked about their thoughts on feminism during an interview at a trading company on the 7th. The interviewer reportedly also asked A to lower their mask, saying, "I want to see your facial tone while asking this question."

Additionally, A claimed that although they applied for a marketing position, they were not asked any job-related questions. The interviewers reportedly asked questions such as, "Have you ever been attacked when talking about feminism to men around you?", "Do you think there is a difference in physical strength between men and women?", and "Do you think there is a glass ceiling?"

However, the company told SBS, "The request to lower the mask was to verify the identity of the applicant," and added, "Questions about feminism were asked to both male and female applicants, and if any applicant felt uncomfortable, we are willing to apologize."

Dong-A Pharmaceutical officially apologized last year for the gender discrimination interview controversy. Photo by Dong-A Pharmaceutical website capture.

Gender discrimination issues during recruitment processes have been pointed out for a long time. Last year, controversy arose when it was revealed that an interviewer at Dong-A Pharmaceutical asked gender-discriminatory questions during a new employee recruitment interview.

In November last year, female applicant B, who interviewed at Dong-A Pharmaceutical, reportedly received questions such as, "How do you feel about receiving less pay than men even though you did not serve in the military because you are a woman?" and "Do you plan to serve in the military?" from the interviewer.

After the controversy escalated, including a boycott of Dong-A Pharmaceutical, the company eventually issued an apology under the CEO's name. Dong-A Pharmaceutical stated, "We will thoroughly review and supervise our recruitment system and procedures to prevent the recurrence of such issues."

Discriminatory experiences during recruitment are also reflected in statistics. According to a survey conducted by the job portal 'Saramin' in September last year targeting 1,732 job seekers, 21.1% of all job seekers reported having been asked gender-conscious questions during interviews. The rate was more than three times higher for women (30.4%) than men (9.6%).

However, it was found that job seekers rarely protest when asked gender-discriminatory questions unrelated to the job. This is due to concerns that protesting unfair treatment in a clearly hierarchical interview situation could lead to disadvantages.

Relatedly, a 2018 survey by the job portal 'Incruit' of 781 adult men and women found that more than 7 out of 10 (74.9%) job seekers with interview experience reported experiencing power harassment.

However, even when subjected to power harassment, few job seekers challenged the interviewer's attitude. Most took a passive stance, such as "hiding their displeasure for fear of being rejected (48.8%)" or "avoiding answering and evading (19.3%)."

The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Some point out that the reason gender discrimination continues during interviews is the lack of laws to punish such behavior.

Article 4, Paragraph 3 of the Act on the Fairness of Recruitment Procedures prohibits employers from requesting basic screening materials such as physical conditions like appearance, height, and weight, or information such as place of origin, marital status, and assets that are unnecessary for job performance.

However, this only bans discriminatory demands in basic screening materials such as application forms, resumes, and self-introductions, and does not apply to interview questions. Also, the law applies only to workplaces employing 30 or more people, making punishment difficult for most small and medium-sized enterprises.

Experts emphasize that only job-related judgments should be made during interviews. Bae Jinkyung, head of the Korean Women Workers Association, said, "The interview process should assess job ability. It is a place to judge whether the candidate has the skills or motivation to perform the job. There is no need to verify personal thoughts or beliefs during the interview." She added, "The company that asked questions related to feminism this time likely has a vertical corporate structure. That is why problematic questions come out unfiltered during the interview."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.