Czech Nuclear Power Plant Used a Swimsuit Contest to Hire Interns

Bryan Michalek | June 27, 2017
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In the Czech Republic, a nuclear power plant hosted a swimsuit contest to hire their next intern. Since the ridiculous contest went public, the power plant has been the target of massive criticism.

The CEZ Temelin plant offered a two week internship program with the company, but because of the basis for qualifications, the legitimacy of the program is now in questions. CEZ’s Temelin station posted 10 photos of recent high school graduates, donning bikinis and hard hats, while posing in the plant. In the post, the company stated that the woman with the greatest number of likes would be crowned “Miss Energy 2017” and in turn receive the internship.

According to AOL News, the company claimed the contest was a continued implementation of programs that enrich culture in a report by Deutsche Welle. As you might have already concluded, the statement did little to quell the public anger. In a statement to The Independent, CEZ tried to soften the blow by noting that they offer 900 internships a year, but when you look back to the fact that the internship offered recently was only two weeks long, 900 seems a bit less substantial.

In a report by Time, it was found that the post had garnered up to 700 comments on Facebook, with the majority of them sending complaints of the competition being sexist. Comments included: “I thought this was the 21st century,” and “You find the number of likes under half-naked picture of a young lady as adequate and/or tasteful criterion for a career opportunity that is promoted as ‘professional?’’

CEZ issued an apology to the women on Facebook saying, “The purpose of the competition was to promote technical education." They also claimed that an internship position would be offered to all of the women, but if they were considered only on the basis of their bodies it seems that maybe these women weren’t qualified for the position in the first place.

It’s just my opinion, but if you are hiring someone based off of their looks for a job that requires serious skills and qualifications then hiring all of the girls isn’t fixing the problem, it’s just a dodge.

If you really want to get people off your back CEZ, maybe hire some people that are specifically qualified for the job.  

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