Posted by Sam Richards
This is rather troubling story and all the worse because this young woman was hired with the agreement that she would be wearing her head scarf while at work. While we haven’t heard from the company spokespeople, aside from the letter from which they quoted in the story, it doesn’t seem as though this fired employee was not doing her job. Hmm…
I hope people will take notice to this story and rethink about supporting this company. If shoppers actually hear about this discrimination, I think that the company will face major losses. If customers hear the real truth about this case, they will demand changes. Personally, I will not shop at this store or even think about shopping here unless something is done to correct the situation and this topic of discrimination is addressed. I think that this situation will have an effect on other companies to take care not to show any discrimination with employees.
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While most workplace discrimination cases are hard to determine if there was actually any fault in the employee’s claim, this is a clear example of discrimination. Not only did the young lady comply with the company’s request upon hiring her, but she had seemingly done nothing wrong and obeyed their agreement they had set forth from the beginning. We all know that in today’s society, no one can be neglected the right to work based on their sex, race, religion, heritage, or any other such traits. Abercrombie and Fitch absolutely violated this right. While shocking, I see this problem as much bigger than that one incident against this Islamic woman. One could argue that the entire company, based directly in its roots and mission statement, is prejudice. I have heard of this so-called “look policy” before, and it really is simply just a racist policy. It implies that Abercrombie and Fitch employees should be white and good looking. Of course this is not what the policy exactly states, but much of what the company is trying to get across is this idea that its employees should not look much different from one another and be attractive. They are basically saying that they only want pretty white people representing their company.
This, in a world of changing cultures and accepting everyone, creates a problem. They are trying to be diverse, right? They hired this young Muslim lady in the story, only to turn around and fire her based on her “look”, or religion. The truth is Abercrombie and Fitch does not want to be diverse. They are only trying because they have to, but based on what I heard in the story, corporate is doing everything it can to maintain its white culture in the company. The problem lies in the core of fashion companies such as Abercrombie and Fitch. As with all companies, they have a target audience to sell to and they stick with that target audience. Their audience is young, gorgeous white people. That is the image they have held for years, and everyone knows it—and c’mon, who doesn’t love gorgeous white chicks? But I digress. In essence, the company wants nothing to do with any other culture or ethnic group other than hot white people. Their ads prove this, their clothes prove this, and their “look policy” proves this.
So we as a people have to ask ourselves: Is this wrong? On the surface, it definitely seems that way. But on the other side of it, maybe not. Companies have the right to target any specific audience they want, and it is clear who Abercrombie and Fitch targets. But at the same time, it is very wrong for them to blatantly discriminate people of other races. They have to reach a middle ground somewhere. This obvious discrimination may have been able to pass when the company was still small, but since they have reached a global platform, they need to change their ways to accept all races and cultures into their company. I do not have the answer to this problem. But instead of ignoring this discrimination rooted deep in the heart of their company, Abercrombie and Fitch needs to change their ideologies to accept people of all races and cultures.
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I'll admit, I shop at Abercrombie & Fitch…a lot. Though buying and wearing clothes I like is very different from supporting a company who's hiring system and frame of mind in general, is very warped. Yes, Abercrombie is a business, so yes, its ultimate goal–sadly enough–is to make money. This company makes money by advertising what it beleives our society views as sexy. It plasters a photograph of a slim, long-haired woman wrapped in the arms of a buff, narrow-nosed Ken doll all over its walls, bags, and magazines, while also incorporating Shakespeare quotes behind its counters describing the word "fierce" and I guess trying to appear, educated? Whatever it is Abercrombie and Fitch does, it works, because its customers keep going back for more, no matter how much those ripped, torn denim jeans cost.
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This is what baffles me though. Abercrombie sells its "image" of sex enough through the store walls, bags, and magazines, why does the company feel the need to discriminate against prospective employees, also? It is one thing to hire or not hire a model, and to throw out or keep a photograph for a few shopping bags, but when it comes to rejecting prospective employees because Abercrombie and Fitch doesn't like the way these applicants look, there is a HUGE problem. Even when I go into the store to shop, I rarely see any variance of ethnic backgrounds in employees. In fact, it looks like ten thousand Barbie and Ken dolls with keys, badges, and superficial smiles. Abercrombie and Fitch beleives in promoting its "image" at all times, I guess, but what this company needs to understand is that discrimination is a lot more important than selling apparel and making money.
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Apparently this company thinks that by seeing these "flawless" employees which fit the correct image, customers will be even more intrigued to buy clothes to resemble them. Abercrombie & Fitch must realize that racism is not longer tolerated and discrimination against the appearance of an idividual because he or she is fat, bald, hairy, tall, short, black, brown, or blue is no longer tolerated. Instead of simply selling an image, Abercrombie & Fitch is promoting discrimination, and it is ridiculous and needs to stop.
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If I were that girl, I would continue pursuing the lawsuit against the company and draw as much negative attention to its hiring process as possible. Abercrombie and Fitch should not be allowed to reject employees as it rejects magazine covers. People are people, people have feelings, and all people deserve to be treated equal. Yes, it is a business and this business feeds on younger customers who crave the image of sex and buy “Fierce” cologne simply because its name is “Fierce,” but there is a line this company shouldn’t cross, which is discrimination against individuals of different color, appearance, religious backgrounds and so on.
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This is not the first time I have heard of discrimination by Abercrombie and Fitch, and for that matter, Hollister. Because of these cases, I do not shop at either store. Equal opportunity employer my a**. Unfortunately it takes events like these for people to realize there is still discrimination in the work force and many Middle Easterners suffer daily because of people’s racist comments and prejudice.
Have we ever really taken a general look at the people who work at Hollister or Abercrombie? I mean first of all, they don’t have sales associates, they have “models,” and apparently neither wants to model them as non-discriminatory. All associates seem to look and dress alike. I don’t look to their employees for advice because they do not look professional. It’s like I’m in a store surrounded by all those superficial people I hated in high school. Anyways, that’s beside the point. Many of these people either immigrated here themselves, or their families did so for the opportunity for advancements.
As far as discrimination continues, making these poor victims work in stock is horrible. They did not apply for these positions to be stuck behind the scenes so clients “feel comfortable.” I mean seriously, are they going to sabotage us? I think not.
I feel like these companies need to be punished for their actions, and I don’t mean a lawsuit only. These are million dollar companies and frankly these small cases don’t really worry them. As the word is spreading though, we need to encourage others to boycott these companies until they improve their ethics. I mean ethics is really what this battle is.
The most shocking level of this story was that this poor girl was not fired by her local manager, but by corporate. This company has some serious issues. How can Hollister possibly be okay with firing someone on basis of his or her headscarf? She did not violate any dress codes. Hollister new they were hiring her and that she was wearing the headscarf. She was ordered to only wear specific colors, which she did.
This was blatant discrimination. Why are these companies so afraid to employ people who are “different”? They do the same exact work, and sometimes even better than everyone else. It is so hard for me to come to terms with this and fully grasp the situation. I tend to believe that all people are good, but when I hear stories about this I cannot help but be curious. Why can we still not see eye-to-eye? The color of your skin, or design of clothes, or religion should not give us the reason to judge someone negatively. I can only hope that these companies change. After this case, Abercrombie and Hollister need to do some serious thinking about their actions and make a public apology. This case does not just affect these companies. It affects all businesses and codes of ethics.
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Ok, this video was just sad. The first thought that came to my mind was “Wow that is bull shit. Typical bull shit.” It pretty much confirms ideas that people of color already have about corporations like Abercrombie and Fitch. As a black female I know I have gone into the store a few times and each time I have sensed discrimination by certain looks and comments throughout my time spent in the store. And because of it I refuse to buy anything there. I definitely will not spend my money in a store that show blunt disrespect and see nothing wrong with it. Sometimes I just go in to see what the sales people will say to me. It angers me that there are organizations that are still doing this; seriously, let’s get over ourselves. I have heard several stories about Abercrombie discriminating, against minorities especially.
When instances like this happen and are continually reported it creates a generalization about the company. And in this case it seems to be rightfully so. What bothers me is that people still support them as a business. How is this ok? It reminds me of the video we watched in class with the actors and the Muslim girl who was being disrespected in the store. There are thousands of bystanders in this situation, most of them being customers and employees. I could never work for a place like that (half the reason because I am black and the other because it is just wrong! Even if I was white).. I would say that it is not enough pay to do something like that so blindly, but I can’t even say that because being “paid” to discriminate is even worse.
I wonder what would happen if people decided to boycott the famous A & F for a cause as good as this one. It would be a hell of an idea. It just falls under the “Okay, so what should we do about it?” category. I bet there would still be people (white and of color) willing to argue that it either “wasn’t their place” to say anything or “their merchandise has nothing to do with this so I’m still gonna buy from there.” The point is that the SERVICE has everything to do with the situation. Hopefully people are growing out of their “selfish” stage in the mist of all of this. We were just recently talking about how far we have come as a country when it comes to equality, but this just brings some realizations to the surface. It is a wake-up call to us all. We still have plenty of work to do.
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ok first off i worked for american eagle during my high school and some colligate years and there is a look policy which is sad. i didnt show up in american eagle clothes or atleaste cover up the other corporations close i was sent home. i understand why they do this but to fire someone because of a religious article of clothing is rediculous. they really need to look at their policy and decide are we doing the right thing here. she has every reason to be upset and pissed off because what they are doing is flat out wrong, no doubt about it. she deserves some type of apology and the death threats need to stop. if you are threatening a teenage girl over this your an ass and someone should punch you. this is a big issue and people dont want to talk about it and thats why it is in such uproar. if we did something about this earlier we wouldnt have these issues but we dont talk about it so here we are.
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It is sad to see this type of discrimination continuing to happen over and over again is situations like this. It should not have mattered in the first place, but if Abercrombie understood initially that she would be wearing a head scarf than how can they go back on their word like that and just fire her. Also it is really angering to hear Abercrombie’s response to the situation in the video. They didn’t address the problem at all it was just a bunch of generic nonsense about diversity when they are clearly continuing with discriminatory policies. I really hope that these women are successful in making Abercrombie pay for these terrible policies.
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I am actually really shocked after listening to this story. I am not sure if it was mentioned in the video and I just missed it, but I am curious to see where this incident occurred. Originally I was thinking that the workers and manager at that particular store were just in a racist area. However, despite where the incident occurred, the corporate official is the person who actually came and investigated and fired the woman. I am just surprised that after she was hired and working there for a few weeks, the official came and fired her. I think that is a pretty bold move on their part.
It is obvious that the statement made by Abercrombie & Fitch stating that they wanted to hire more diverse employees in order to understand the customers they were serving was solely for publicity‘s sake. I guess this video is just proof that despite how far we have come regarding discrimination and racism, it still exists today. I just feel like today the majority of racism is a little bit more hidden and less overt. However, everyone knows that it still exists.
I just don’t understand how they could have given this young girl guidelines on which hijab’s to wear while she was working, and despite her following protocol, they fired her because she wore them. The fact that they fired her on account of her wardrobe not fitting “Abercrombie and Fitch’s look policy” is absolutely ridiculous. They can’t even make the argument that less people would buy their clothes because a muslim person is the salesperson. Many muslim women, along with other races wear clothes from Hollister and Abercrombie and Fitch. I think that Abercrombie and Fitch is one of those stores that already has a stereotypical role as being a store that caters to young, rich preppy kids. The only thing I am not surprised about in this story is the store that displayed their racist attitudes. If I could think of any store that would have fired a Muslim woman based on her Hijab, it would be a store like Hollister or Abercrombie & Fitch. I feel that since it seems to target a specific audience, the corporate members felt that a Muslim woman with a headscarf would actually deter from their profits rather than enhance them. However, it is very selfish of the company to allow people of different religions to buy their clothes in order to make a profit, but they discriminate against who can work there.
I would be interested in seeing if the company actually fired this woman because they are racist against Muslims, or if they actually feel that if she was working there they would lose money. When people go in to buy clothes at a store, especially one that already has an established name for itself, I doubt that anyone is looking at the people selling the clothes. I especially think it is sad that just because this woman is vocalizing her disparagement of the company and her unfair treatment, that she is facing death threats from people. I think that it was the right thing for Hani to file a complaint first before filing the law suit. I think she is working towards justice, and if people like her just sat around after they were treated unfairly, our society could not work towards eradicating the racism that still exists.
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I think that what makes the story even more messed up was that Hani explained to them in the first place that she would be wearing a head scarf. I don't understand why Hollister, or any store should be allowed to discriminate against an individual who is complying with what the company wanted her to do. They told her to wear blue, black or white and that's what she did. In addition, her headscarf isn't hurting anyone. It isn't like her scarf is a gang symbol or something, its simply part of her religion. It is unacceptable that places like Hollister are able to discriminate against people who don't look like their cookie cutter white model when these people are willing to work hard to complete their job requirements.
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Boy am I glad not to shop at any of these stores, and I am glad to say that I will not in the future. This is particularly unnerving because of the hypocrisy that is displayed by the company. First of all, it is great that the company gave her an opportunity to work for them, even though I do not agree with the control of the color of her head scarf. Secondly, firing her for one of the caveats of hiring her is wrong, and essentially backwards. This shows how the corporate mindset is completely different than a store's because one didn't mind, her head scarf while the side with much more power had the final say. It is unfortunate that companies as popular as Abercrombie are getting heat for prejudiced situations especially on more than one occasion. To see this happening a few times in a couple of years is unacceptable and needs to be addressed immediately.
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This is not the first time I've seen something like this happen. In high school, my best friend was a Muslim girl from Pakistan. She loved roller coasters. She had ridden almost every roller coaster in the United States and I think she'd even been to a few abroad. But we decided to go to Six Flags in New Jersey. She had ridden this one roller coaster, Kingda Ka, at least nine times before she brought me to the amusement park. Anyways, we waited in line and finally got up to the gates and they told her that she could not ride the ride because of her hijab. It was considered a "long scarf" apparently and was not permitted. I remind you again that she has been riding roller coasters since she was tall enough to do so but this one day the clerk at the ride register decided to make this rule. I was scared senseless and I did not want to ride it by myself but we had waited so long that she refused to let me wimp out now even though she had to sit on the sideline and watch me. So ultimately I rode the roller coaster. However, I was sad, scared, and even a bit frustrated because she could not ride with me. Afterward, we went to some sort of customer service booth where we made a formal complaint and she ended up getting five exit entrance passes but no apology or anything more. She rode lots of other roller coasters that day but not Kingda Ka. I thought it was quite suspicious and stupid that they decided to enforce some kind of new rule that had never been enforced before that day.
I have told that entire story because I just felt the exact same way after hearing the story about this woman being fired from her job. I agree with one of the earlier comments made that the woman should not have been hired if her head covering did not fit with their "look policy". It is very unfair that she was fired for no apparent reason. Although I think the disconnect between the local and higher up management might have been the cause for her termination. I feel like there's always someone from headquarters who doesn't know how anything works on a small scale level but they come in establishing new rules and policies. But that's a topic for another day. Still, had they said right in the beginning, we're sorry your head covering does not fit with our "look policy" this would not have been a problem. Sure that's discriminatory, but it's their store. If Hollister, Abercrombie and Fitch, Aeropostale, American Eagle or any other selective hiring clothing retailer decides that they don't want a certain look in their store then that's their choice. If you don't support their choice the best way to show that is don't shop there. Don't apply there. Don't recommend your friends to shop there. They will soon feel the hit to their wallets. It's the inconsistency amongst the retailers and their patrons that bothers me.
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After viewing this video, my only comment is “Hah, wow.” I’m so “surprised” that corporate fired her. UTTER SARCASM. It’s ridiculous. I sadly, (yes I’m not proud to admit that I work there), work at the Abercrombie & Fitch downtown, and I’ve heard so many of my own little race related comments (as I’ve mentioned in my discussion group). I remember at work once, the managers, who I’m pretty good friends with were talking about how we haven’t met quota yet. And I asked what they were talking about. Apparently, we hadn’t met the quota that’s set by corporate: the number of people we should at least have per race, and apparently we were slacking on the Asian/Pacific Islander portion of this pie chart. This was last semester. Just a few days ago, before break, I was told we still need to hire one or two more “Pacific Islanders,” and the manager jokingly said, “Where does one even find Pacific Islanders!?” Having dealt with this and “exposed” to the stupidity of this company, I could only react with a laugh and the attitude of not being surprised that this girl was fired for wearing a hijab. Abercrombie’s look policy is ridiculous, but also understandable. They simply want the employees to wear the things that represent the clothes they are trying to sell, which, logically, what kind of company doesn’t do the same. The extent to which they mandate this, however, is where it becomes a bit overboard. Playing devil’s advocate, their whole spiel is to look as natural as possible (in terms of their makeup) so they actually require that the females do not slather on makeup to go to work and to maintain light/pink/neutral colored nail polish, for example. But despite these “guidelines” for the look policy, it’s a bit unfair and drastic and just so angering to the point of being “fed-up” with Abercrombie’s idiotic antic’s and “policies,” especially when it come’s to this poor girl who was fired for wearing a hijab. Haven’t we covered all this already; it’s 2010, people. This reminds me of the previous blog posts regarding the hijab ban laws in France (or the possibility of making it a law). Either way, it’s ridiculous. It was being worn for a religious purpose and having this girl wear it shouldn’t deter from sales, unless people were simply choosing not to buy from this store because a girl wearing a hijab was on the sales floor. Grow up, it’s just a head scarf, it’s not like she’s concealing a device that removes the sensors in there. Ahh, Mike Jeffries (CEO of the Abercrombie & Fitch companies-Hollister included), you’re a joke.
I understand people also think it's about preserving the image of the brand because…of course, it'd be like having the most uber-prep style person trying to sell the items at Hot Topic: it just doesn't click. However, this girl could still work there, be representing of the Cali-surfer style Hollister gives off and SITLL wear her hijab. Her hijab doesn't mean that she's anti "Cali-style".
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Wow!!!!! Was the first thing that came to my mind after watching this video. This is so wrong, sad and discriminating. It kills me when employers try to make all these stupid rules about appearance or dress codes on the jobs. I believe most of these dress codes rules are sneaky ways for employer to discriminate again religions and race legally or without being looked bad. While watching this video I thought about an incident that happens last week to one of my friend. My friend situation was similar to what happen to Hani at Hollister. I did one of my friend’s hairs last week and her hair had a little color in it. When she when to work she was asked to removed the color from her hair or she would be taken action against. She came back to me for me to remove the color from her hair because she was afraid she will get fired because of how her hair looks. We all found this to be very racist because it was okay for the white girls at work to wear their hair with unnatural colors (blond, brown, and black) but as soon as a black girl does it, her boss found it to be more attracting and disturbing.
Once a person outfit is not disturbing the businesses operation or bothering the customers, I don’t think it should be a problem. If a person is a good worker and does what he/she suppose to do, why judge them on the looks? What makes Hani case even more sad and unethical is the fact that she was wearing her headscarf for religion reasons. If she was just wearing a headscarf because she wants to, then they could have had a more logical reason to fire her. Most businesses in the United States such as Hollister make stupid rules and regulations so that only white people will be able to work for them. For example, I was interviewed at Hollister before and they told me that you are only allowed to wear their clothes at the interview. If hire, you will only wear their clothes on the job site. If you’ve noticed, most black people or minorities do not shop at Hollister and the main reason for this is because their clothes prices are high and therefore most minorities cannot afford them. I believe this is a very clever way to discriminate against minorities.
People who make these rules and regulations make them to support mostly white workers and keep minority out of their businesses. This is so sad and people give dead ears to these situations. They claim that racism was diminished but it is even worst today.
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That is absolutely ridiculous. She should file a lawsuit!!!!!
When I started working at Gap, which is a great company when it comes to equal employment opportunity–though not as eco-friendly as one might think–I had a friend working at Abercrombie. She said they have so many employees so you could only have one or two shifts a week. They do this because they want "fresh faces." I have heard that if you go in requesting an application and you are not "pretty" or "good looking" enough they just rip it up and then give the job to someone they consider worthy look-wise of the job. It is not based on their wit or skill as sale associates… but the way they look in the clothes on the shelves!!
I can see that there is method behind this… marketing through "beautiful people" as is done through professional models and movie stars through movies, and magazines, etc. AND this is not illegal… more of a marketing technique… which seems to work as girls try to starve themselves and get plastic surgery to fix so-called flaws people are made to believe they have. HOWEVER… discrimination is no excuse for marketing behavior. If one is not white or does have the "look" the hiring manager is looking for, they are not considered for the job. It is terrible!!!
Honestly, when I first found out that Abercrombie was like this I stopped purchasing their products. I know that perhaps my input in their profit is not much compared to what other people pay and contribute to their company, and I love their clothes they are very cute… but I cannot stand to knowingly help a company continue to discriminate against employees. The statement made to the press is obvious bull because the it says they are an equal opportunity employer, this is not true because the girl was doing her job! The only reason she was dismissed was because of her religion and Abercrombie and its associates should give compensation to all people they discriminate against as well as change their policies. Where is the religious tolerance? It is obviously not seen in this case and something needs to be done…
I guess I can say that I have never knowingly been discriminated against…. I am white and a fairly average looking American girl who has been raised in a Christian community so growing up in Central Pennsylvania I have not met a whole lot of other diversity outside of college. Still here at school I find that the majority of those who I meet share common distinctions with me and I find that the Penn State Community is also lacking when it comes to diversity. HOWEVER… if I would go to another community outside of my comfort zone or to another country where cultures and customs are different than my own I am sure that I would meet someone who would blatantly discriminate against me.. I don't know how I would feel. I am sure it would not be something I would like and I know for a fact I would want some kind of just action to be taken. This girl did not deserve to be discriminated against and neither did any of the other people Abercrombie has done this to… it is not fair and they need to be dealt with.
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This is actually not very surprising just because how Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister always displays skinny and beautiful female models and really toned male models with six packs in their ads. I remember going to the new Hollister store in SOHO, NYC and seeing mostly caucasians workers and models. The guys would be wearing a button down shirt unbuttoned showing off their six packs, and the girls would be wearing something similar to guys, something revealing and showing off their bodies. These stores are geared towards teenagers and the younger generations. They want people to feel that by wearing their clothes, people will feel sexy and beautiful too. So because Hani was wearing a head scarf, she was immediately fired by the corporate, because it did not comply with the looks policy. I feel like these cultural differences places some pressure on Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister, because they want to maintain a certain look and a certain feel when costumers walk into their stores. This is definitely very immature especially because America is supposed to be all about freedom, and Abercrombie & Fitch is totally not complying with the country's moto. Maybe Abercrombie & Fitch should be "fired" for not complying.
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We get so caught up in how far we’ve come in race relations, that we don’t realize all of the discrimination that continues to exist. The story of this girl would not be surprising if they had refused to hire her because of her scarf, but because they hired her, and then fired her makes it even worse. Had her and I been friends, I would have been pleasantly surprised that Hollister had hired someone that was outside of the rail-thin blonde, or the ripped white guy. It was a big step for them to hire someone “different” but they went and ruined it by firing her for not fitting into a “look policy”
Although I attempted to look up the “look-policy” everywhere it is not published for the public to see. However, I believe that there are some fundamental issues with having a look-policy. The extent of a “look-policy” that a company can have is a uniform policy stating what can and cannot be worn, such as low-cut shirts, perhaps certain types of jewelry etc. However, from what was said, the look-policy has more to do with the way you look than the way you should dress for work. This is wrong. This look-policy also seems to be in violation if the first amendment rights to freedom of religion. If their look-policy states that no hats, beanies, or coverings of the head can be worn, then they must be open to the option that different religions may require a scarf, or a turban. Why should something so superficial interfere with a job? The scarf is clearly not hindering her abilities to perform the tasks she is assigned. It is something very spiritual for her.
A friend who is Muslim once told me that she admired girls our age who wear a scarf, because that means that they are fully devoted to their religion in a very serious way. This girl has chosen to do this by wearing a scarf, and for her purity and devotion she is being punished.
Why is it that we are so afraid of those who are different from us? Why do we like to stereotype and assume the worst of everyone from how they look or dress?
The one thing I hate the most about most Americans is that they believe that they were here first and everyone else is just coming into their territory, but they forget that their ancestors did the same thing immigrants today are doing. Yet that seems to forgotten with all the fear of those who are different.
It is said that America is a melting pot, but that can be taken in a negative way, because once you go into the melting pot, everyone becomes the same. And although this analogy can be used for the similarities peopla have in their need and want for freedom. It is very negative in wanting those who are different to “melt” in with everyone else. We should be more of a pasta salad, there are many different components that coexist together, but retain their uniqueness.
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I feel that this is absolutely terrible to do to someone. This woman is doing nothing but try to support herself financially and she is then being criticized for what she wears as a result of her religious background. If the person who was hiring her thought that this woman's image was going to be an issue for his or her business image then that person should not have hired her in the first place. Have these people never heard of freedom of religion? She is not just wearing the scarf as an accessory, if that was the case then they could just tell her to remove it, but you cannot fire someone based on their religion…if that was going to be an issue it should have been addressed long before she was hired.
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After watching the video, I was felt confident that Abercrombie discriminated against this poor woman at least in part due to her religious beliefs. But after seeing some of the responses on the blog and thinking more about the issue, I realize that the company was well within their rights to fire this woman based upon their dress code. I want to first make it explicitly clear that I think it was wrong that she asked about the dress code and was told that she would be allowed to wear her hijab and then was fired for wearing it. I think a solution for that issue would have been to have who ever told her she would be allowed to wear it consult with their boss(es) about the issue before responding to the question. Because the video made it seem like the local branch would have kept her employed if not for corporate stepping in and firing the employee, it seems unlikely that the local branch of Abercrombie and Fitch wanted this woman fired because of anti-Muslim sentiment. So I will repeat, from what I know, Abercrombie was within their rights to fire this employee for not complying with their dress code. I think it is an entirely separate issue whether or not their dress code itself violates any laws or the first amendment. I do not know nearly enough about wrongful termination law to even begin to guess whether or not there should have been exceptions made for this woman.
I also think that it is a very slippery slope if Abercrombie had allowed this woman to remain as an employee and continue to wear her hijab. If they had allowed this then they would then need to reasonably attempt to allow for other religious considerations. For instance some religions prohibit the use of electrical devices on certain days; this might make some of Abercrombie and Fitch’s cashiers unable to perform their jobs for days at a time. Should Abercrombie still be required to keep them employed if they are hired as cashiers but for 1 month out of the year they cannot use the electronic cash register? It would make very little sense to keep them employed for this month, but again I do not know the law so maybe they are required to keep them on the payroll for this time because it is a religious obligation.
Another natural result of enforcing complete cooperation with religious practices is the question of what constitutes a religion. If I create a religion with only a few of my neighbors, are our beliefs any less protected than those of practitioners of the Roman Catholic faith? I should hope not, so I think we all need to be aware of how complex of an issue this is before we see a story about a Muslim woman being fired for wearing her hijab and assuming it is discrimination.
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akeem10 Reply:
March 13th, 2010 at 1:06 am
I have always knew that Abercrombie and Fitch is a store that discriminates against things such as race, weight, and so on. Every time I have visited that store, I have always noticed that everyone in the store is skinny. I understand that it is a store for people that are fit, however that is not a good excuse to have such a slim line of the type of workers. I do not care if you say that I am wrong, but every time that I have always noticed that the black people and other minorities that work there are always working in the storage room. A friend that work there have also told me some other things but here is not the place to make accusation because I do not have facts to back it up. I am not really surprise about the situation of Abercrombie and Fitch firing a Muslim worker because of the way she is dress. However, I am extremely happy that she stood up and let the world know her situation. Many people now know how discrimination still exist in America. The question now is, what are you going to do about it?
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While I have never worked for Abercrombie, I know many people who have. As a young teenager, I thought working for Abercrombie was a dream job because I loved to shop at Abercrombie, as well as Hollister. Looking back now, I do not know why I obsessed over this company that sells cookie-cutter clothing and so obviously discriminates against its employees. It truly is sickening.
When I often told friends I was interested in finding a job at Hollister, they strongly cautioned me against it. They told me about the strict dress code that went along with working there. One thing I particularly remembered was having no nail polish on at all, which isn’t too weird to think at a professional job, but at a teen clothing store? Really? I also found out that they “recruited” people to work there based on their “good looks.” People shopping at the mall were approached and told they had “the right look” to work at either Hollister or Abercrombie. I really just can’t understand how a company who goes about recruiting potential employees in this way can stay in business!
I was surprised that this woman was so blatantly discriminated against, but I was not surprised that it was Abercrombie doing the discrimination. I really think that it is absurd that they are still able to stay in business while practicing such injustice. The woman accompanying the young girl in the video described the multiple incidences involving Abercrombie and discrimination. The fact that this has already happened so many times shocks me. How are they still in business?
Abercrombie’s “look policy” is completely ridiculous. How can a business be successful when they recruit their employees based upon their “look?” Clearly, this large company has simply had a slap on the wrist in these other lawsuits considering they are continuing to do the same thing. I think that their behavior is inexcusable. I really hope that those who have the power really make Abercrombie see the errors in their terrible, terrible judgment.
I think what I really find most ridiculous about this story is that they hired her in the first place and told her that wearing her hand scarf was absolutely fine. Then, the district manager comes in and fires her? Wow, way to go Abercrombie. You guys just really blew any dignity you had, which I guess wasn’t much. If they were so adamant about a dress code then don’t hire her in the first place. I really feel awful that this poor girl has to go through this whole ordeal. I have never been discriminated against and I really think this is such a horrible thing to have to go through! It really is extremely traumatizing.
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I think it is ridiculous that Abercrombie does this type of thing. Although it is crazy, I am not surprised one bit. If you walk into any of the stores it is filled with beautiful stereotypical California looking people, most of which are white. I do not understand why they would tell her she could wear the headscarf, and then fire her for that exact reason. They have had these types of incidents one too many times and something serious needs to be enforced to stop this type of open discrimination. It is wrong in so many ways and I hope that this woman wins the lawsuit.
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I heard of many reasons to get fired and most are justifiable. When you start firing people because of things like race, religion, and other things like that, there is no justifiable reason especially if that person is doing their job well.
A few years back, my one friend got fired from Target, in Philadelphia, for calling his boss an asshole. He said a fellow worker, who was pregnant, always got loud with the boss and yet never got in trouble once. Is that fair? I do not think so. Even if she has anger issues because she is pregnant, if she curses the boss out she should get fired. Why would my friend have been fired when he said it once?
Now, I get the idea behind why my friend got fired. He was making his boss look weak and the boss had to exert power to make himself look more dominating, but he only picked out my friend. That is what makes it unfair. It is also unfair to higher someone for a job then fire them when you disagree with something about them.
My friend got fired because his boss disagreed with an idea my friend had, which lead to an argument. If an employee is doing their job well at work, then no store has the right to fire them because their beliefs are different than their workers. It puts up a barrier between employee and executive communication.
I understand that some stores try to stick to a theme, like if their store is a Surf Shop your employees are probably going to be surfer’s or shore rats. Hip clothing shops will have hip employees that make the store run more smoothly. With that being the case, you make sure before hand you make known what it is you are looking for. It may be discriminatory, but it saves less headaches then when you higher somebody then fire them for reasons other than being a bad employee.
This then brings the question up of is some form of discrimination necessary for a business to get the ascribed look it is going for? Some may think so while others may think not. I think if the job calls for a specific uniform to be worn than don’t higher a person who won’t wear it because they are wearing something that coincides with their religious beliefs. Save that headache of the racist argument after hiring and let it just be whispered quietly before signatures are made.
Hearing about this issue just adds on to the fact that some businesses still have an issue with anothers religion and being active in it may make or break someone having a job.
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I love how much racism this world have against Muslims, I mean they have all those wrong ideas against Muslims and how they think that whoever wears a jihab is a terrorist, this is another big problem that this world will never get over, this is the only racism that has hatred behind it which will make it harder to get rid of, what will it take to learn that not all Muslims are extremists?, I mean people need to understand the culture , they need to have a full understanding of this world and stop having unexplained hatred and racism toward everyone that is different.
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I have to post this in pieces so here is the first part:
The fact that Abercrombie did something like this really doesn’t surprise me at all. As was stated in the video the company has done things like this before and every time it has been brought into the spotlight it slowly fades away until something of the sort happens again. I personally do not like the style of clothes at that Abercrombie sells but I can see this story from both sides.
If you have ever walked into and Abercrombie store you will see the same thing whether you are in the flagship store on 5th avenue in new York city or in a mall in middle America. Tall thin boys and girls and men and women are clad in polo shirts of white or blue with washed out ripped denim bottoms and stylishly worn tennis shoes. The guys are super buff and the girls are super skinny and everyone looks tan and happy. Another thing that you will notice is that they are all white.
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Here is the second part:
There might be one person of color in there but they are light enough to not mess up the scene. This is the image of the store. This is what they represent. The employees also need to represent this image, therefore they are all almost always white. Of course there might be a few stores that have black workers and other minorities on the sale floor.
I find it interesting though that when you look at the history of Abercrombie it was actually a store that sold outdoor equipment in the 30’s and 40’s and it now sells clothes.
On the other side I do think it is a bit unfair that they fired this girl because her religious hijab did not comply with the dress code. This is supposed to be America, a place where there is freedom of religion. But the things that are acceptable can only be accepted if they do not go against what is considered normal. In this case it was what was considered American.
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Here is the third part:
It is true that we have come a long way in terms of civil rights and race relations in the post Obama era, but in my opinion, yes Obama accomplished a lot but he is only one man. He does not just speak for the black community but also for every person who never thought that they could make anything of themselves. We should question ourselves at the local level. Do we just follow blindly or do we do what is right. What if we went overseas and were treated differently because we were American. In some cases we are, but in many cases we as Americans are able to melt more easily into different cultures. You just want to fit in and pursue your livelihood just as anyone else does. Remember, she had on a hijab, nothing offensive.
Bottom line, companies act in their own interests, but sometimes those interests are a bit misguided.
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I am sure that the majority of the people in our Sociology class agree with me when I say that firing someone because they are wearing religious clothes is a completely absurd idea. This girl should have the right to wear whatever she wants. I say, “should have the right” because apparently according to Abercrombie she does not have the right. Despite the fact that they had already agreed to let her wear the scarves around her head, they fired her. As long as they were navy blue or other colors they had stated that it would be okay for the girl to work there. It seems like a fair compromise to me; she can wear the scarf as long as it complies with the store’s color code. The fact that corporate called her; met with her, and fired her blew me away completely. I would have thought it was going to be a local level sort of deal.
What really stuck me as disturbing or odd was the fact that she had to appear in silhouette because of threats that she was receiving. Now, at the beginning of the news broadcast they said that it was because of death threats she was receiving, but when she was talking she said it was because of physical violence threats that she was getting. Either way, I do not see why anyone would threaten her, unless it was someone from the store itself. And if they did threaten her not to go on the show, what is being in a silhouette going to do? She is still going out there and talking about it. That part I did not understand. But I still am very proud of her for going out and speaking for her right to work wherever she wants and to wear her religious headscarf. It takes guts to do what she is doing and I think that not very many people would actually do it. It would be so much easier to complain about it and not do anything. But she is fighting the good fight, she is going to work hard and make sure that her message is heard and she deserves to be treated fairly just like every other American there is.
I hope that Abercrombie learns their lesson from this and although they said that they wanted to “expand their cultural horizons” in the letter they wrote I have this feeling that they are just some pretty words that they threw out there to please the customers and make everyone happy. I do not think that they have any intention of changing the way they work, after all why would they? They are making a ridiculous amount of money and people are just going to keep buying their products. This girl standing up to them is the first step toward them treating people the correct and just way.
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I’m curious if Abercrombie & Fitch would hire someone that needed a cane to get around, or someone that was severely cross-eyed or someone with any other slight physical disability that doesn’t look the part of the Southern California care-free surfer teenager mold. I understand, however, that the business needs to have a “look policy” for the employers that will emphasize the store’s product. If you want to be a waitress at Hooters, you can’t way 250 pounds. If you want to be a hair stylist, you can’t have a bowl haircut. But the problem in this situation is that the girl’s head scarf is mandated religious wear. At Hooters and at any hair salon, it doesn’t matter what religion you are. But at Abercrombie & Fitch, it apparently does.
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My first reaction to watching this clip was that it was terrible and Abercrombie and Fitch are discriminating and it needs to stop. Then I read one of the comments above written by someone who took the opposite stance. Their argument made a lot of sense to me saying basically that, Abercrombie is a privately owned business and they have the right to enforce a dress code and religious wear or any kind, not just a hijab, should not be an exception. So I pretty much agreed with that writer, but am still left with a very uneasy feeling about the story. The hiring then firing deal aside ( though is definitely one of the worst parts to this story), there is clear cut discrimination that occurred; the young woman was denied a job due to her religion. Yet I am still torn more. Yes Abercombie denied a job on a religious basis, but their argument was not because of her beliefs it was due to her dress. Yes many would argue that her dress, the hijab , IS a belief and therefore not to allow the hijab is not allowing a religious practice. Again, torn. I understand from a company stand point the want for a certain image. Any type of company that has a label or picture attached to its name is going to have an image they are trying to portray, and Abecrombie's image is one that is of young men and women, who are clean cut, wear the Abercrombie clothes, and do not wear things covering their heads. Another comment above made the point that, this girl could always just find another place to work that is willing to accept employees and head ware. But is that fair since her head ware is of religious meaning? Should this girl have to limit her job options because of her beliefs? Should private businesses have to alter their "image" to make exceptions for religion? I honestly have no answer, and I am truly torn by the issue. I think private businesses should have the right to put in place dress codes, they should hire based off credentials not race, color, ethnicity, or religion, and they should treat all employees equal. So I guess through all this banter, I believe business should be blind to religious beliefs, but I am still struggling with the clothing aspect. Abercrombie was not directly saying that they fired her due to her religion, but as I said before many would argue that a hijab is a huge part of the religion. Was there discrimination, YES. But is it even possible to not discriminate at all when it comes to hiring people at a job? The whole promoting an image thing just begs for discrimination. Abecrombie would not hire someone who looked like a washed up hobo because they want that clean cut image. Other businesses may not hire someone due to other features whether innate or a chosen. It is all discrimination. Which leads me to another question; is religious discrimination any worse than discriminating on how someone dresses or talks?
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It’s hard to believe that companies like Abercrombie and Fitch and Hollister can discriminate against people, yet be successful businesses. This is outright religious discrimination and I hope that when people see this they stop shopping there. I use to shop there in high school, but now I have realized that the clothes are made cheaply and they stand for people who are fake. As a girl, I am definitely into fashion and love shopping. I not against paying money for a name brand shirt or shoes, but I am against paying for a company that stands for so many bad things. I know that Abercrombie has a certain “look” and I understand that they want that look displayed in their store, but that has nothing to do with religion or race. What’s the difference if you dress someone who is white in their clothes then if you dress someone who is black in their clothes? There is no difference we are both human beings and to think that such a large company would do something so childish disgusts me.
What really upsets me and doesn’t make sense to me is that they hired her knowing that she was going to wear the scarf on her head, and then later they decided they wanted to fire her. I think it was understandable to ask her to wear certain colors, as they do with the other employees, but to fire her when she was obeying what she was told to do, is absurd. It’s even more upsetting that corporate fired her; the head of the company, which represents all of Abercrombie. I would have thought that something like this would have happened at the branch level, and then taken to corporate to have them say that it’s ok if she wears it.
I’ve heard of Abercrombie having magazines with pron in them, and whether that is true or not I don’t know. With this said, along with religious discrimination and race discrimination, it’s hard to believe that anyone still shops there. I also thinks it’s horrible how they target teens and middle school people with the image of being super skinny and wearing clothing that is tight, short and has holes in them. I remember asking my mom to buy me clothing from there because I thought it was “cool.” I feel badly now asking her to pay a ridiculous amount of money for clothing that looked slutty and was cheap. I hope that this incident makes people think twice about buying clothing from there or from other brands that stand for similar things. A company that targets people in this way and discriminates in ANY way should not be in business. It seems that Abercrombie influences young people in a powerful way since so many people buy their clothing and it’s sad that they send out a poor and disgusting message.
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This just gives me another reason to hate Hollister and Abercrombie and Fitch so much. This store is so fake and only hire certain people based on their looks. After hearing this poor girls story, makes me even more frustrated. How can they fire her for wearing something that goes along with her religion? I really wish more people knew this about Hollister and Abercrombie and Fitch so they could stop supporting them. If they are going to discriminate against certain types of people, why should we support them? You would think that a highly established company like this would have more values and morals then this.
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I believe this is an outrage, I understand the stores like Hollister and Abercrombie and Fitch have a certain dress code but she was told she was able to wear her head scarf. Like really is a head scarf that bad, that one must get fired? It is how the women was brought up there is nothing she can do about that it is her religion. This shows me that discrimination will never go away it just takes different forms and gives people someone else to talk about. The way this country is we will always live in a racist environment because everyone always wants to feel superior to the next person. I wonder how long was she working there before she got fired I do not recall them saying how long she was working. Another thing I do not understand about this story is why people would send her death treats. The statement released by Hollister seems to say that we do not do business with people with head scarves. Being that this is not the first case of this same issues with Abercrombie and Fitch it shows that this company is a racist company. They only used to hire white people and had the minorities’ work the stock room meaning they only want the whites to shoe there face.
The women who was fired because of her head scarf was fired by the district manager meaning that the local manager had no problem with the head scarf, it was the higher ups who have problems with the image a head scarf is portraying. Many different types of people buy Hollister clothing and hearing that they are discriminating against those types of people many people will no longer purchase there clothes.
I really do not see a problem with the head scarf, even though it seems like the company is trying to target a specific group and crowd, diversity in the store gives many people a chance to someone other than a white person participating in customer service. What if the woman who was fired was the best working at the store did the district manager care? All he was worried about is the image that they are trying to portray. This country needs to change it starts with s from things such as this and other discriminatory things that we encounter on the daily basis. Things such as jokes, thoughts, actions, all need to change. We are all human and live in the same world. I bet if we really got to know one another we will have more things in common than you think and we all will be able to relate to one another.
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I definitely think that this is discrimination and that if A&F was going to have a problem with the way she dressed because of her religion, then they shouldn't have hired her in the first place. I have heard stories from people who used to work at these retail stores and their dress code is pretty strict. The fact that Hollister and A&F want their employees to wear flip flops and dress in their clothing, including jeans and not being able to wear eye liner, reflects on the reasoning why they fired her. I think that because there is a law suit being filed that it could be an eye opener to how they discriminated an employee. Since we live in America and we are a free country points out that people should have equal opportunities to be able to work wherever they please, as long as they do their work and get the job done. This is such a problem in the world today with people acting racist towards others isn't necessary and also shouldn't be discriminated for their religious beliefs. Hollister is a clothing store that targets younger people and a certain style of dressing which only some people prefer. But people from different cultures do wear it so it's not right for Hollister have a preference of what they want their employees to look like. A company shouldn't judge a person on their looks to perform a job they should take a look at their performance in doing the job. The discrimination that goes on needs to be looked at closely to see the harm that it being done and it needs to stop. It's a major problem and something needs to be done. Especially in this case, the company hired her with agreement that she was able to wear the scarf. Why didn't it matter then? Why did they fire her for her scarf after they hired her with the understanding of being able to wear it. The company obviously knew she was a Muslim woman when they first came in contact with her. It's not right for her to have lost her job because of her looks. Hollister and Abercrombie attract a certain look which includes those people who only wear their clothes. The fact that a woman who they think would never shop there wanted a job shouldn't be looked at as anything that would be considered wrong. It kind of shows because they did hire her. I don't know what made them change their mind by firing her because of her scarf. A lot of people wear scarves. Is it against the law to wear it around your head? No, I don't see that as a huge deal because we have our different religions that we practice or believe it and to be discriminated by a clothing store about it is just ridiculous and it totally wrong. No matter what, I'm sure the store is still going to make good business but the fact that they were generous enough in the first place to hire her before they fired her, could have possibly attracted more customers because maybe there are other Muslim people who would like to work there but may also feel like they would be religiously discriminated if they were to set a foot in there.
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Having shopped at Abercrombie and Fitch and Hollister during my high school years and occasionally purchasing an item from their stores these days, I have seen first-hand the “look” that A&F embodies. From having shirtless male posters at their stores to hiring skinny white girls and fit men to greet customers and provide service to customers at the store front, A&F has what many would call, a bold sexy upscale look that they obviously would like their employees to symbolize. However, from a legal perspective, A&F signed a contract, just as Hani Khan did, and both parties are legally bound to that contract. A&F employed Hani Khan on the basis that she would follow the A&F “look policy” regardless of whether or not she was wearing a headscarf.
Having said that, I would also like to pick apart their diversity statement and how it relates to the statement: “At Abercrombie & Fitch we are committed to increasing and leveraging the diversity of our associates and management across the organization. Those differences will be supported by a culture of inclusion, so that we better understand our customers, enhance our organizational effectiveness, capitalize on the talents of our workforce and represent the communities in which we do business.” First, being committed to increasing and leveraging employees does not really sound like an idea that A&F would support when they mainly hire skinny females and fit males, mainly Caucasian to their storefronts.
The culture of inclusion part is the biggest joke of all. Let’s say that A&F did not legally and unequivocally guarantee Hani Khan the opportunity to work at their store based on the conditions agreed to prior to her employment. Let’s just say that she was hired without them consenting to her wearing a headscarf. In this case, A&F would not be as liable because they did not agree to hire her on any pre-existing agreement and their only serious problem could arise from the EEOC filing a suit anyways. In this case, they would most likely have still fired Hani Khan, and knew they would have probably gotten away with it without facing a major suit. This is an example of a large corporation taking advantage of their size and influence and firing an employee on the grounds of blatant and obvious discrimination, which in this case does not represent an “inclusive” climate to put it mildly.
In terms of better understanding their customers, capitalizing on diverse talents, and representing the communities in which they do business, A&F has failed at all three of these aspects. By being stringent with the types of people they are willing to hire, A&F is forgoing an opportunity to procure diverse people and leverage their different abilities, backgrounds, and skill sets to produce a strong workforce that does not fully represent the American population and the communities in which they do business. So, in this regard, A&F has both turned their backs against their so-called “diversity” statement and opened themselves up to legal action. And to be perfectly honest, they brought it on themselves with this transparent act of discrimination.
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This blog only makes the name Abercrombie and Fitch leave me with more disgust than ever. I'll admit, there was once a time when this clothing store was where I wanted to shop. And then I grew into my own skin and was not overly persuaded with the idea of looking what everyone else looked like. It is problems like these that continue to keep our country from taking another step forward from ending racial and/or religious discrimination towards one another. It is funny to me that workers such as these believe that it is appropriate for them to decide who does or does not have the "look" that is required for their line of business. And yet, at the same time, the blog video also comments on Abercrombie's efforts to diversify the ethnicities shown throughout not only the customers but also the employees as well. I feel bad for this girl, this former employee that has done nothing but supposedly cooperate with the demands of this popular clothing store. Not only do I feel bad for the racial and religious discrimination they inflicted upon her, but also for the self-esteem issue this can bring upon a vulnerable teenager such as herself.
Although I am aware of the main concern for this blog, I also think it is wise to think of the other repercussions that can conclude to an action such as this one. This is still a teenage girl attempting to work for an extremely popular store who is probably also trying to fit in when it comes to a different culture other than her own; a culture that she I'm sure she is definitely not used to. As a store that is supposed to support the difficult stages of a teenager, it is a harsh reality to have been hit with a discriminatory card from a place that is supposed to be welcoming and supportive of your differences from one another. However, it is not shocking to me that a store such as Abercrombie and Fitch wasn't as supportive as they said they would be. To be fair, they probably were too concerned with their attempts to unionize their customers towards a type of custom clothing that many adults are known to despise. Point being, it is unfortunate that a girl would ever be fired from a place for wearing something that was of religious origin. This was clearly not an attempt to reject the requested attire; this was simply an effort to obtain a job, receive pay, have a bit more socialization in her life, all while continuing to maintain her religious base and family culture. Once again, it is situations such as these that put us back in our attempts to push forward in life.
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We all went to high school with a girl who was just so completely self-conscious that she had to take out her all her insecurities on other people. She would appear to be the most popular girl in school; dressing in the best clothes, friends with the most attractive people in school. All in attempts to cover up all the flaws she found within herself. This reminds me of Abercrombie and Fitch. One of those stores that tries to be the most 'popular.' Only wanting the prettiest people to represent their store. Well this might work in high school, but when people grow up and realize that looks aren't all that matters, they see that stores such as this are discriminatory, expensive and so overrated to the point where they're embarrassed to wear this clothing. I've been boycotting Abercrombie and Fitch since my senior year of high school, haven't bought a single article of clothing in that store for my own reasons and especially because of stories like this one.
That girl deserves to be working somewhere that's proud to have her as an employee.
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Clothing stores like Hollister, Abercrombie and Fitch, and even American Eagle have an obvious “certain” look they desire for their company. The look doesn’t include African Americans, Asians, Hispanics, Native Americans, or even Latin Americans, but predominately Caucasians. How many times has one enter the domains of these department stores and have encountered a non-white employee working on the sales floor? The answer is simple—slim to none. My next question is why are these departments’ stores discriminating against non-white applicants? It just doesn’t make any sense. They should realize that Caucasians are not the only customers that shop at their stores.
In the video, corporate from Abercrombie and Fitch provided an explanation in defense to their hiring practices and addressing the specific “look” of their company. Under the sophisticated and sugarcoated words, I felt all that was left in basic words were a bunch of bullshit and meaningless sentences. How are they trying to diversify their staff and better their effectiveness? How is firing someone and being nailed by enumerable amount of complaints and lawsuits an example to diversity? How is hiring the typical skinny, long hair “Californian” style individuals with just those “natural” look exemplary to thousands of teenagers around the world? It’s sending the wrong message and that message is, “Be skinny, have long, blonde hair, wear body hugging clothes, and buy our expensive clothes.”
I am just so tired of all these discrete and indirect discriminations that takes on and happens in almost every aspect of our society. It’s time that these issues be addressed and addressed loud and clear for everyone to hear. What the Muslim individuals did in the video was very brave. They continue to fight for their right for equal employment and to take as far as they already have is just something that I find inspiring. I really hope that the chain department stores like Hollister, Abercrombie and Fitch, and others will awaken to their practices and realize that it’s unfair and unjustifiable. How can anyone be able to turn another person down for a job just because they don’t look or dress the way they do? I think it’s absurd and downright silly.
What was more chilling from watching the video was that the one individual was receiving death threats from the either company or from other individuals for taking the issue to the news. Obviously, this kind of practice is real and true, otherwise no individuals would take the initiative or even the extreme to threaten someone else’s life. It just goes to show you the passive aggressive role that these companies adopt during these situations and their reaction after a complaint or lawsuit—a cover-up. What these companies need to practice is growing up.
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To be honest, all I can do is laugh at this company. I know that Abercrombie and Fitch has had multiple problems involving racial diversity in the work place before, and firing someone for a religious scarf is awful. In the video the woman who was fired by the company, said that the firing came down from corporate because she was in violation of the “look policy,” but in my opinion Abercrombie and Fitch is in violation of being a fair and admirable company. In Twenty-First century America this should not even be a problem. The “look policy” that Abercrombie and Fitch/ Hollister use to tell their employees what to wear is obviously flawed, it may not be a bad thing to say that nothing should be worn on the head of an employee, but there should be an exception when the head wrap/scarf is religious. Freedom of religion is one of the basic rights that the United States was built around, and because Abercrombie and Fitch fired this young woman because of a religious belief/clothing and not because of a short coming in the workplace Abercrombie and Fitch is directly violating this basic right. Muslims deserve to have the same chances as any other group of people, and most definitely should not be discriminated due to what is worn on their head.
As a college student, I realize that Abercrombie and Fitch and Hollister are iconic brands that a lot of people shop almost exclusively at. I was one of those people that would occasionally shop there but, after hearing this and knowing some of the companies past, I would hesitate to begin to shop at these stores again. Since it is a corporate policy to discriminate against Muslims with their religious scarves and not an isolated incident based on misled decisions of a single store, I don’t think I could give my business to such a company. Historically, it sounds as if A and F is taking a step in the wrong direction, instead of being more open to diversity in the workplace, they are keeping up their own trend of hiring mostly white employees. Even as a business decision I think that, If A and F broke away from the bulk of employees being white, then maybe they could even gain a greater majority of the market, more people of color may be willing to buy from this company, and the negative connotation that Abercrombie and Fitch has due to their discrimination would be diminished. Getting back to the Muslim woman and her problem with A and F I think that she should continue to sue the company and hopefully justice will prevail and she will receive compensation and send a message to this company and others that discrimination and against what America believes in.
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Sometime it seems that awareness of events like this can be the best defense against racist company's. Like many people mentioned, the lawsuit is a step in the right direction. It is one thing when they will not hire someone because they wear a scarf, but if they at first agreed that she would be allowed to wear it then fired her for it. That is just messed up. It is like they changed their mind on the matter or one someone else in the company heard about it they decided it was not acceptable. I guess maybe the company could "not" be racist but fear that her appearance would led to racist customers to shop elsewhere? I am not sure what the company was actually thinking. I do hope she gets a nice payday from all of this at the least.
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I think that this whole situation is so ridiculous. The fact that a company feels they have the right to fire a woman based on the fact that she wears a headscarf (as a religious statement) is barbaric and a complete violation of human rights. I hope that the lawsuit is successful on the young woman’s part. This issue should be made an example of for the rest of the world. The Abercrombie Company should never be allowed to act in the discriminatory manner ever again. The fact that they have acted in this manner before and have not been severely punished is just not right to me.
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I feel like she should not have been hired in the first place if her scarf was against their look policy. I know Hollister and Abercrombie and Fitch have that policy and I think if that is how they want their employees to look than that is the type of people they should hire. People obviously still shop there regardless. I’m not saying this look policy is fair, but none the less it is there and they do adhere to it. She just should not have been hired to work in the first place if she were in violation of it. That was wrong. The company should have recognized this in the beginning and then none of this would be happening.
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When you hear a story such as this it is hard to believe that corporate America can discriminate so blatantly against its employees. We are told that Abercrombie hired Hani with the express understanding that she would wear a head scarf. She was even told that some colors were acceptable while others were not. Complying with all of her employer’s instructions she was still fired for what must be the most discriminatory of reasons—her religion. Although Abercrombie could have lied and fired her for poor sales or lack of cooperation, instead they told her the truth and fired her because of her religious preference. Is it better that our bigots are at least truthful?
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I unfortunately am not surprised by this blatant discrimination from the Hollister and Abercrombie companies. In high school I worked at Hollister and saw this happen all the time, and like the video mentioned there have been incidents in the past where blacks have been discriminated against. I find it ironic that one of the main interview questions Hollister always asks prospective employees is why diversity is important. They seem to try to say they are not being unfair, but their actions tell a different story. Hollister is all about their image. The dress code was very specific and if you did not follow it you could get fired or get a strike. You had to wear flip-flops, and Hollister clothing. You could get away with Abercrombie clothing if the name was not on it also. The whole entire way the store is decorated portrays more of the beach, surf, and sun image they take on. The store that I worked at was redone completely. It is purposely dark with fake palm trees. The perfume is constantly sprayed on the clothes to smell beach-like. And there are even televisions with the ocean on it as well as only certain music allowed to be played up front. This shows that the Hollister Company has such a narrow view on what their store, including employees, should look like. They want the surfer looking, blond hair, tall, and yes white image reflected in their staff. At Hollister there are basically two types of employees: the models (who work out front) and the stock workers (who work in the back where they are seen less by customers.) A majority of the people who worked in the back of my store was black; however I am not saying that they were all black. A manager was also black, and even our district manager who had higher authority than everyone else in our store was black. However, it just seemed that although there were exceptions, the majority was white people working up front and in charge. Going from the front of the Hollister store into the back room was like a completely different place. In the front, it was all orderly and beach atmosphere but in the back it was rap and hip-hop and all different types of music on with people dancing and able to be free. It was just like a different culture and I found that really interesting because even us workers hated the scene Hollister created. All of the employees always joked about the ridiculous rules we had to follow, but that could also just happen at any job. In my whole 8 months working there I did not encounter a person being fired because of their religion, but I guess the poor girl’s religion effected her appearance and thus Hollister thought she would make them look bad. The thing is Hollister just makes itself look bad. Like most companies, it is just a scheme to get people to think their store is so awesome and cool that we just all want to buy their clothes. But I think it is so important for their company to remember there is a difference between wanting to portray a store in a certain way and outright prejudice and unfairness. If Hollister wants a lot of people to shop at their store they should have all different employees in order to make everyone feel comfortable and not leave out everyone who does not fit in that narrow image and mind-set.
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Reading this article made me sick to my stomach. I don’t understand what is happening all over the place. I don’t really understand why people care if someone wears a scarf to work especially a scarf that is a part of a religion. I don’t understand this, because they must have interviewed her to hire her and I feel like if the scarf is a part of her culture, then she was probably wearing it during the interview as well. I feel that this is a shady story and there are facts that are not included because it really doesn’t make any sense.
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This story infuriates me. For one, I have always been hesitant to support Abercrombie and Fitch or Hollister because I have always known they hire people based on their appearance. In high school, one of my best friends tried to get a job at Abercrombie and Fitch and they said she wasn’t what they were looking for. They told her she wasn’t “model” material. For one, isn’t it illegal to not hire someone based on their overall appearance? Second, it is very conceded for a company to think that all of their employees must look as if they were professional magazine models. If I have learned anything from all my Women’s Studies and Sociology courses, I have learned that people come in many different shapes and sizes. Everyone is beautiful in their own way and it is very unrealistic for a person to look like a PhotoShopped model on the front of Cosmopolitan magazine.
Now onto the issue regarding the young lady who was fire based of a religious tradition. First off, Hollister hired her in the first place knowing she was going to be wearing head scarves to work. Obviously it wasn’t a problem when they fired her. I think the color policy of the head scarf is absolutely ridiculous. I’m certain that American citizens have the right to freedom of expression AND freedom of religion. If the head scarf was being worn for religious purposes, it shouldn’t have been legal for the young lady to get fired. Religious traditions are always an exception to most rules. For example, when I was younger, I played soccer. We were never allowed to wear any jewelry during practice or games, unless you had a religious necklace. Religion is always an acceptable reason for anything. Celebrating a religious holiday is an excused absence from school, is it not? So why was this young lady not allowed to express her religious beliefs at work? Hollister shouldn’t be allowed to fire her based on her appearance, especially if she was doing her job correctly.
America has become too harsh when it comes to our First Amendment rights. I think that this Muslim woman should definitely file a complaint and possibly a lawsuit. I’m assuming she wasn’t planning on making this retail job her future career. With that said I am interested by the fact that higher end companies and jobs allow their employees to express their religious views, so why doesn’t a small retail store deny religious freedom? What statement are they setting for this country? We are supposed to be a diverse nation, but how can that be when clothing stores like Hollister and A&F only hire women and men who represent less than one percent of America’s total population?
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Seriously when I first saw the article I was completely outraged. This is ridiculous that any company would try to tell an employee that they are not allowed to wear something that is part of their religion and that they have been wearing their whole life. Not only was it completely wrong of Abercrombie to fire the girl based on her wearing of the hijab but it was especially wrong because they told her upon hiring her that she was allowed to wear it. Honestly, if I was working at an Abercrombie or Hollister I would probably quite considering what they did to this girl. The company had no right to fire her for that especially after it states in the company's policy that they are a corporation that has leverage diversity. In no way, shape, or form does this issue of them firing a girl based on her wearing of a headscarf help show that they are all about diversity. In fact, this issue shows just the opposite of how much abercrombie and hollister don't incorporate diversity into their workplace and shows really how much they do discriminate. What is even more sad is that this is not the first allegation that the company has received in reference to discrimination. Almost everyone that shops at those stores or has at least been inside of one of them can see that the stores themselves are made up of mostly white, fit, blue-eyed, blond-haired males and females. There is absolutely no diversity that can be seen in most of the stores that the company has. Every Abercrombie and Hollister that I have ever been into are filled with exactly the same type of people working there. The stores typically try to portray the image of very sexy individuals who look like they belong on a beach. Honestly, the fact that they do that is so sickening and there is an extremely good chance that the girl who they just fired did a better job as an employee there than some of the white employees. The company claims they are all about diversity but everyone knows that this is a load of crap right there because they are anything but diversified. What I find also disturbing is the fact that those stores that do have African Americans working there typically give them jobs in the stock room where no one, at least not shoppers, can see them. I don't see why any company would want to be that cruel other than for the reason of them trying to make lots of money and get the best sales but that is no excuse to treat someone like the way they are. I have quite a few friends who have worked for either Hollister or Abercrombie and have honestly told me how the ones that are of a different race are usually stuck to work in the stock room whereas most of the white employees are working in the actual store itself. I'm really appalled that a company would think it is even the slightest bit ok to treat people like that. Overall, I just feel completely disgusted by the company and feel extremely bad for the girl that got fired. I really hope the Muslim girl's family sues the company to the fullest that they can and hopefully some justice will be served through the process.
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Disappointed yes, shocked no. Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister and Ruehl are all owned by the same company and they all have this same "look policy". If you go into anyone of these stores without knowing which one it is exactly, you will notice that everyone looks the same, talks the same, smells the same, and even the music played is the same. So that is why it is no shock to me that this girl was eventually fired. They probably wanted to make it look like they want to diversify their staff and then after a while realized that they could not tolerate it anymore.
I myself am not white, I am actually hispanic and I was hired by Abercrombie and worked at the one downtown for a little while. And I did not realize nor did I think about this until now that I watched this video but I applied to be a "model" which are the people on the floor helping the customers and advertising the "look" however I did not get hired for that position and was given a stock position with very little hours and they were during the very early hours of the day when the store was still close. As i previously stated I never even thought twice about this until now and in the video the woman goes on to say that when they do hire people of a different color or ethnicity they are usually hired to work in the back with the stock. I eventually left because of the lack of hours…but were there really no hours to give out or was it because my hair is a little curlier and my skin a little darker, hmmm?
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these people can not be serious …. how could they be so evil, rude and disrespectful.I do not know how many times i can stress this point..WE ARE ALL HUMAN BEINGS. it only take one jerk to make such a decision. for me an being is a human-being regardless of race, sexual orientation, religious belief, etc. it is not fair and this story breaks my heart to know that something like this still occurs in this day and age. she is capable to do the job a person without a scarf could do.
I like my job for the simple fact that is is diverse and the mangers do not discriminate and hire people based on their skin color of religious beliefs. it is sicking and unbelievable. i believe a law suit should be filed and the jerk should be fired.
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