Netizens cry foul over call for adult actress look-alikes to 'motivate' teams
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba recently withdrew a recruitment advertisement for "computer programmer motivators" that featured a Japanese porn actress, after it aroused controversy over alleged gender discrimination.
Alibaba Group Holding Limited had planned to recruit candidates whose physiques resembled Japanese adult-video star Sola Aoi or South Korean actress Song Hye-kyo, who often portray innocent roles, according to a job description, later removed, posted on April 29 on the company's website.
The job description said the company was looking for applicants who can praise programmers and break down communication barriers between them, in order to build tight-knit teams for arduous and time-consuming projects. They should also wake up programmers and engineers in the morning, and organize morning meetings every day, the job description said.
The advertisement drew heated responses from netizens, who compared it to Japan's use of "comfort women" during World War II.
"The advertisement was originally intended to recruit creative tech talent in a humorous way," read a statement sent by the public relations department on Monday.
"We apologize to anyone disturbed by the ad," said Alibaba, adding it will provide all employees equal opportunities and fair treatment.
Many tech companies seemed to follow suit after Chinese smartphone vendor Meizu Technology Co issued a similar advertisement on April 1.
According to search engine baidu.com, there are 16 Internet or technology companies recruiting so-called "computer programmer motivators," most of which listed no education requirement or only demanded an associate's degree.
"We would like to retain talent in a creative fashion … [Motivators] are a benefit for our employees," an anonymous worker in the human recourses (HR) department at Guangzhou-based ppmoney.com, an online investment platform, told the Global Times
She said they have to meet certain height and appearance requirements, adding that motivators are nine-to-fivers who work from Monday to Friday.
The company offers "motivators" 8,000 yuan ($1,289) to 10,000 yuan per month, according to its help-wanted ad.
"Those positions should not exist at all, as they tarnished the image of programmers and companies and do harm to [male] programmers' girlfriends and husbands," a programmer in IBM who asked for anonymity told the Global Times. Another programmer who previously worked for Chinese search giant Baidu Inc said that, in practice, HR department and team leaders share responsibility for motivating and coordinating programmers. "The critical incentive is salary," he told the Global Times.
A female engineer with Google said it is severe gender discrimination. "I would choose another company with identical pay [over a company that placed this kind of ad]," she said.
