Indian woman asked for height, weight, full length photo by HR during recruitment process. See post

Vaishnavi condemned the request for height and weight as blatant sexism.

A marketing professional has criticised HR practices in India after being asked to disclose personal details such as her height, weight, and bank statements during a recruitment process.

Identified only by her first name, Vaishnavi, the professional shared her experience with Hindustan Times, revealing that the HR executive of a luxury hospitality chain contacted her to discuss a potential role. However, during the recruitment process, Vaishnavi was asked to complete a form that left her astonished.

The form requested details including her height, weight, and bank statements, as well as a full-length photograph. Vaishnavi shared screenshots of the form on X, formerly Twitter, expressing disbelief at the request since the role was not customer-facing.

“I can't even process this. An email from the HR in a BIG company, after they sought me out and had a call with me. Unbelievable. We ARE in 2024, right?” she wrote while sharing the screenshots on X.

I can't even process this. An email from the HR in a BIG company, after they sought me out and had a call with me. Unbelievable. We ARE in 2024, right?

PS. They are recruiting for a corporate marketing role that is not customer facing pic.twitter.com/1Gx7VtYueJ

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— June 13, 2024

Speaking to Hindustan Times, Vaishnavi described the request for such personal details as a major red flag. Other users on X echoed her concerns. One user questioned, “How's height and weight relevant?? Who is writing these SOPs and how is it getting approved by ANY top management?” Another user added, “And you say big company? This is beyond shocking and besides the insensitivity, do they know there is something called data privacy? What are they doing with this data - calculating average height and weight of their employees?”

"Full red flag only," a third user remarked. Another user added, "Is this a matrimonial company?"

Vaishnavi condemned the request for height and weight as blatant sexism and criticised other “outdated” HR practices, such as asking for payslips to determine a candidate’s previous salary, which she believes can be used to offer a lower salary.

“HR practices in India are outdated and absurd as it is - asking for your current salary to lowball you, making you go through multiple rounds and then not communicating whether you got the job or not,” Vaishnavi told the outlet. “But asking anyone for their height and weight and full body photo is beyond absurd. This is either blatant sexism or absolutely careless behavior on part of a HR executive,” she added.

She further stated, “I see this as a huge red flag and wouldn't work with an organisation like this where such strange questions are asked - why do they need to see my bank statement? Or know what I look like? Or what I weigh?” Vaishnavi emphasized that the role she was interviewing for required her skills and knowledge and had little to do with her appearance.