Are You Qualified to Read This Post?

When I moved to Dubai, I was shocked by the classified ads. Sure, people are specific about what they are looking for in the personals, but in Dubai they were specific everywhere. Job ads would call for a "Western educated woman in her 20s," apartments were available for "professional men from Kerala." Following Eid, a Muslim gift giving holiday, the paper would have an entire section dedicated to "Unwanted Gifts for Sale."

In KL, it's pretty much the same thing. Equal opportunity is more of an after thought, if it's a thought at all. Today, I met some friends for lunch and, as we cruised the hawker stands, we came across this doozy of a help wanted ad at a pancake house.

They actually have a minimum height requirement to work there! Woman must be at least 5'3" and Men 5'6". If you want a management position, add on an extra inch! These people aren't operating heavy machinery. They aren't even being taken for spontaneous rollercoaster rides. They are making pancakes! Maybe, maybe, there are extraordinarily high counters back in the kitchen.

One vertically gifted worker posed for a photo for me. He was pretty tall, I think he will make pancake president one day.

They also request you send a recent snapshot with your resume. Don't short, unattractive people deserve the chance to earn a living? Not in the pancake industry, my friend, not in the pancake industry.