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Appearance is part of a person's non-verbal communication, and looks are often associated with the perceived ‘attractiveness’ of individuals for hiring practices in the workplace. As such, physical attractiveness can be a ‘prized possession’ when it comes to leaving a positive impression on managers who are interviewing candidates. In the twenty-first century environment, our society seems to be more obsessed with physical appearance than ever before because society has conditioned us to associate beauty with other favourable characteristics. Of course, such appearance norms, regarding attractiveness, ‘good looks’ and beauty are linked to years of socialisation in culture, cultural norms and materialistic personality standards.

In a business context, managers and employers often make hiring decisions based on the appearance and attractiveness of the job applicants since outward appearance seems to play a significant role in which candidates eventually might get the job. Physically attractive job applicants and candidates tend to benefit from the unearned privilege, which often comes at a cost to others who are equally qualified. Preferring employees who are deemed to be attractive, and consequently discriminating against those who are perceived as unattractive, can present legal and ethical challenges for employers and managers. In this chapter, we provide a discussion and reflection of appearance-based hiring practices in the United States with relevant legal, ethical and practical implications for employers, human resources professionals and managers. We focus on ‘lookism’ or appearance discrimination, which is discrimination in favour of people who are physically attractive. As such, we examine federal, state and local laws regarding appearance discrimination in the American workplace. We also offer sustainable policy recommendations for employers, HR professionals and managers on how they can be fair to all candidates in order to hire, promote and retain the most qualified professionals in their departments and organisations.

The purpose of this chapter is to create awareness and provide practical solution for the diversity conflicts and challenges facing people in Afghanistan.

The content comes from the literature and personal observations of living in Afghanistan, while also meeting several ministers and the former president of the country.

While most people around the globe might perceive Afghanistan as a homogeneous society made up of people with similar beliefs and goal, the reality is far from it due to the heterogeneity of ethnicities, values, and languages spoken in the country. Of course, heterogeneity can make a society much more complex when diversity is not managed effectively, and this is certainly the case in Afghanistan’s divided population. When a heterogeneous society is not inclusive and not managed well, its consequences can be high levels of discrimination, distrust, violence, and animosity among diverse people groups. Afghanistan is an Asian collective culture, which has suffered from many negative consequences caused by mismanagement of diversity, low levels of education, and political acrimony among different people groups based on tribalism.

There was no funding to conduct primary research. As such, the literature and conclusions are based on personal experiences of the author, interviews with the current and former political leaders, and previously published materials.

This chapter suggests that inclusion, education and diversity management are especially crucial for Afghanistan. A review of the Afghan cultural diversity is provided along with suggestions for creating a more inclusive country for all citizens.

The chapter is an original writing based on the author’s socialization, education and interaction with the Afghan culture. As an expert trainer and researcher, the author provides practical content for education, application, and policy development in Afghanistan.

The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of the research presented in this edited volume.

This report is based on 17 chapters, which vary in terms of research approach, design, and method, yet aims to present different country perspectives on diversity within diversity management.

The chapters present new insights on how the national and macro-social environment impacts the institutional approaches to diversity management across the world. Findings indicate the need for organizations to focus on deep-level diversity, rather than choosing a tick-box policy on surface-level diversity. Empirical studies reveal that every institution can adopt a diversity-friendly approach in a way that best fits their structure, culture and the mentality of their top management team.

The report summarizes and integrates novel insights on country perspectives and approaches on diversity management.