quick update

i've been terribly busy.

just wanted to recommend Sano Bar- this Lebanese restaurant at One Fullerton. Was introduced to it for work and just keep going back there as I've made friends with the entertainment manager cum belly dancer. She's HOT! not just in looks but she's a fabulous belly dancer! I brought Iman out there with my colleagues and we had a fabulous time. It's fine dining so it's a little atas. but the food- especially the lamb chops are excellent. check it out!

i'm going back to Lahore soon. and there's a bird-flu out-break in Islamabad! yikes. i wonder how many unreported cases there are in the country?

barbie super-physicist!

Was surprised to hear this morning on the news about the Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices by the Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices. The news quoted that Halimah Yaacob said that this was to avoid practices of discrimination in the workplace. So employers should not ask about age, sex, marital status etc. when recruiting.

This was interesting.

We're looking at an effort to protect people from being unfairly treated on the basis of factors such as race and age, which really doesn't have any direct impact on their probable or potential performance. Although sometimes there are good reasons for wanting to recruit a chinese speaking candidate based on the demands of the work, so the guidelines spelt out very clearly that the reason behind the application criteria must be spelt out clearly.

I liked this paragraph:
" Race
Race should not be a criterion for the selection of job candidates as multi-racialism is a fundamental principle in Singapore. Selection based on race is unacceptable and job advertisements should not feature phrases like "chinese preferred" or "malay preferred".

I liked it as I've never read an advertisement with the phrase "malay preferred". Neither have I read one with "Indian preferred". But well, including the phrase "malay preferred" certainly makes the paragraph LOOK more multi racial.

I think iman will be happy too. As words or phrases which show a particular preference for a certain gender should not be used, such as "female working environment". I liked this- women are not the only ones who face gender discrimination. Iman's faced it, as they're not accustomed to having men in the early childhood industry, and some kindergartens have stressed that they are an all female working environment.

check out the guidelines here

However, with all this emphasis on protecting the applicant, it does seem as if the employer will have less choice? Or maybe not? I'm sure some employers would like to know whether a lady their employing is planning to have kids. I mean if you hire a woman you didn't know was gonna be pregnant in 2 months, and disappear away for a 3 month maternity leave, that would be tough on the bottom line. I know mega orgs won't have that much a problem, but how about our SMEs?

I suppose the intent is well and good. And it brings an awareness to people that they may be discriminating sub-conciously. I know when i was hiring, I threw out a handful of women's application based on their photographs that make them look like barbie doll bimbos who'd have trouble spelling the word 'cat'! With no photographs, maybe their resume would get them through the door, but would that still stop employers from throwing their application into the shredder after?

I'm sure that will still happen. But at least, they'd have a better chance getting through the door. Just like Ugly Betty- chances are better if they get through the door and have an opportunity to say something that would make us realise that an unattractive girl can be brainy and capable, or in my case, a Barbie doll look-a-like can be nuclear physicists too...although i don't know of any just yet...