Prepare to be enraged.
Two men in Sweden recently conducted an undercover social experiment. They both interviewed for the same job. One of them, Olle, was openly gay and exceeded all the necessarily prerequisites. The other, Konrad, was straight and met almost none of the requirements for the job.
Olle’s interview goes swimmingly up until the interviewer learns he’s gay. That’s when he abruptly cuts the meeting short and sees Olle to the door, refusing to even shake his hand. The next day, Konrad gets a call saying he’s got the job.
According to PinkNewsUK, the interviewer featured in the video later contacted Olle and Konrad and apologized for his attitude. Keep in mind that this is liberal Sweden, a long-time bastion of equality.
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Watch the shocking video below…
Atomicrob
This happens countless times everyday, everywhere. LGBT discrimination remains rampant.
Grant Mealey
Unacceptable…..glad am in California
Brian Mclellan
Experienced that last week.
Glücklich
Glad that hasn’t happened to me as far as I know.
meghanada
Hopefully that will help disabuse people of utopical image created by Scandinavian PR.
Aromaeus
I’m shocked.
Glücklich
@Brian Mclellan:
Sorry to hear that. Care to elaborate?
sportyguy1983
So exactly what type of job were they interviewing for that they thought it was appropriate for one of the guys to show in shorts wearing a backward face baseball cap? The first job I interviewed for at 15 (a supermarket bag boy) I showed up wearing dress pants, long sleeve shirt, and a tie.
Glücklich
@sportyguy1983:
I wondered the same thing. Sounds like some kind of warehouse/delivery job.
The 17K part…SEK 17K is a little less than USD 2K. Based on the context of the discussion it doesn’t sound like skilled labor; I doubt it’s 2K per week, probably 2K per month. I guess you don’t have to dress up to interview for <$25K.
meghanada
@sportyguy1983: Yes, THAT’s the true story, isn’t it, you genius you?
Stache99
I want to move to Sweden where it’s that easy to get a job. It’s a tough market here in LA.
Glücklich
@Stache99:
Only if you want to be taxed at >50% for making more than the equivalent of USD 60K. And that’s before VAT on everything else AND tariffs on imported items.
The job that was so easy to get in the video pays only ~USD 24K by my math. The guy who cleans my house makes more than that.
1EqualityUSA
If some right wing, bigot, Republican NOMster came in for a job, I can’t say I’d hire such a person, nor would I vote for them to become our President.
winemaker
THIS REALLY DOESN’T SURPRISE ME. IT HAPPENS HERE ALL THE TIME, EVEN IN LIBERAL,’ ANYTHING GOES’SAN FRANCISCO. IT HAS HAPPENED TO ME MANY TIMES, TOO MANY TO COUNT, EVEN THOUGH I’M NOT FLAMBOYANT AND LOOK, ACT AND DRESS CONSERVATIVELY, I’VE HAD SEVERAL LONG JOB INTERVIEWS, ONES LASTING FOR FORTY FIVE MINUTES TO ONE HOUR. THE INTERVIEWERS AND I MADE GOOD RAPPORT AND I’VE BEEN TOLD AT THE END OF THE INTERVIEW THAT “YOU’RE THE CANDIDATE WITH THE ATTRIBUTES WE’RE LOOKING FOR”. THEN YOU GET THE RUN AROUND WHEN FOLLOWING UP, YOU KNOW THE ‘BLOW OFF’, THEIR VOICE MAIL, OR THE GATE KEEPER, ETC. MOST ARE TOO CHICKEN SHIT TO BE PROFESSIONAL TO YOU, YET YOU MUST BE PROFESSIONAL AND SOMETIMES END UP KISSING THEIR ASSES. THE PROBLEM IS IT’S DIFFICULT TO NYE ON IMPOSSIBLE TO PROVE DISCRIMINATION AS THE EMPLOYER SAYS THEY HIRED SOMEONE WITH MORE EXPERIENCE ETC. YES, IT’S A BUNCH OF BULLSHIT, BUT I FEEL I DON’T WANT TO WORK WHERE I CAN’T BE MYSELF AND HAVE TO WORRY I’LL BE FOUND OUT!
Cam
@1EqualityUSA: said…
“If some right wing, bigot, Republican NOMster came in for a job, I can’t say I’d hire such a person, nor would I vote for them to become our President.”
_____________________________
The difference is, the person from NOM, wasn’t born a member of that group, wasn’t born a bigot etc…. but the people interviewing for that job are gay.
Don’t fall into the right wing’s trap by following their argument that being gay is simply a political opinion.
Homo Erectus
@Stache99: No offense, Stache99, but I’d have thought it would be easy for you to get a job. Aren’t you a former (I mean, “recovering”) drug addict? All you guys have to do is take a couple of bullsh*t classes and then you’re certified as a “substance abuse counselor”! You could work at one of those revolving-door “rehabs” that never actually accomplishes anything. It’s quite a nice racket.
Glücklich
I’m surprised this piece didn’t garner more of a response: readers’ own experiences with discrimination in the job market or success stories at work, etc. If it was a fuckin’ Whisper round-up there’d be a hundred comments by now.
Bob LaBlah
In 1994 I went to a hiring seminar for US Airways and walked out fifteen minutes into the interview. I kid you not, we were called in one by one into a room and told to sit in a chair that was the equivalent of a child’s playhouse set. This painfully obvious humorless BLOB was more or less reading me the RIOT ACT in his explanation of what they WERENT going to tolerate and the background checks and all the other degrading shit one has to tolerate to work in America. His tone of voice and actual jowls instead of jaws was too much to bear. I cut the guy off in mid sentence and told him $6 an hour with damn near no benefits and to tolerate that type of management style was not worth it. It was mutually agreed I was not the candidate/fool they were looking for and I TOTALLY agreed.
To this day I still can’t believe any job would start off from the jump humiliating people like US Airways does/did. I will not fly on their jets to go anywhere. I say to all when shit like this happens such as what happened to these guys in the video be grateful they didn’t hire you. If they start off like that imagine what it will be like once you get in there and start working. I learned from that interview why people at airlines never smile about anything and don’t give one flying fuck about throwing baggage around. The only damn thing they (the airlines) want is a warm body that unfortunately in their mindset happens to be human.
I really do wish they had said what the damn job was. I know anyone can learn to do anything but in my honest opinion, there are some environments where consideration has to be given regarding where one can work. I have been out of the closet for over forty years but I would NOT tell guys I am with in a foxhole with while firing at the enemy and they shooting back that I am gay. I don’t give a damn if gays are being allowed in the military there are some environments I would think twice about before entering.
Yuna
@meghanada: Of course there are bigots in Sweden, as there is everywhere. Discrimination on the basis of sex (and gender identity) in the workplace is rampantly illegal, though. You’re not even allowed to to discriminate on such bases during interviews.
It’s not even a matter of civil law, it’s a matter of CRIMINAL law. There’s even a special office which exists solely to help people who have been discriminated against based on their sexuality or gender identity, the ombudsman for gay rights, HomO (yes, it is a pun) and they will go after the discriminating party free of charge.
Meanwhile, in large parts of the U.S. and many other countries, discrimination in the workplace on the basis of sexuality or gender identity is still perfectly legal…
offcell
I think it would have been a much cooler video if Konrad, after coming back in to review the contract, asked the boss why he got the job with his inexperience if his boyfriend was much more qualified, lol.